Northwest downtown road project should be done by Friday

FARGO — A major roadway reconstruction project amid a heavily congested apartment area in the northwest part of downtown Fargo should be done by this Friday, Sept. 18.

Project Manager Scott Olson of the Fargo Engineering Department said as of last Friday, Sept. 11, the $2.4 million project was 95% complete.

Olson said all of the concrete paving in the project's six blocks of work wrapped up on Friday, with only minor sidewalk construction, curing of the final stretch of pavement, boulevard planting and cleanup remaining.

The work has involved reconstruction of three blocks of Third Avenue North between University Drive and 10th Street, as well as one block of 12th Street North and two blocks of 11th Street North. Both the streets intersect with Third Avenue.

Third Avenue has been open to traffic for a few weeks.

The project has involved replacing underground utilities including sanitary sewer, storm sewer and water mains, as well as reconstructing the roadway and sidewalks.

Olson said some of the clay or brick sanitary sewer lines in the area were probably about 100 years old. He said they were deteriorating and were replaced with 36-inch-diameter plastic pipes.

The road surfaces were sorely in need of repair, he added. Years of asphalt overlays were as thick as eight inches in some spots.

There are four apartment buildings as well as the Arc Attic Treasures thrift store within the vicinity of the road construction. A new 92-unit apartment building called Mosaic by Enclave is also under construction at the corner of Third Avenue and 11th Street.

In other project updates this week:

10th STREET NORTH IN FARGO: The nine-block project in a residential area of far north Fargo should be completely open to thru traffic by the middle of this week.

The summer-long work has been done in phases as the roadway was reconstructed from busy 19th Avenue North to 28th Avenue North.

Late last week crews were finishing up the final stretch of paving from 22nd Avenue to 25th Avenue, the last phase of the project. The 22nd Avenue intersection will also open mid-week.

Also on 10th Street, from 17th Avenue North to 19th Avenue North, one lane was closed Monday morning, Sept. 14, for street surface repairs. The work should be completed by the end of the day.

40TH AVENUE SOUTH IN FARGO: Beginning Monday, Sept. 14, traffic was reduced to one lane between 45th Street and 47th Street for private utility work. The project is expected to last three days.

INTERSTATE 29 IN FARGO: Crews are moving north on the interstate as they conduct several miles of concrete pavement repairs.

The work began on the south end of the project area near 52nd Avenue.

This Monday, Sept. 14, crews will begin work on repairing panels of the roadway between 32nd Avenue South and Main Avenue.

The center and right lanes will remain open in each direction, with the single left lane closed in each direction. In about a week, the lane closures will switch to the center and right lanes.

Speeds will be reduced to 40 mph where crews are working.

Crews are completing full-depth repairs that involve removing and replacing a portion of a slab to the bottom of the concrete to restore the deteriorated areas. Partial-depth repairs to fix damaged areas near joints and cracks are also in progress.

MAIN AVENUE: State and local leaders will join Chamber of Commerce ambassadors and the public in celebrating the early completion of the second phase of the Main Avenue makeover this Monday, Sept. 14, at 2 p.m. in the Fargo Park District Depot's east parking lot. In case of bad weather, the ceremony will be in the lobby of the Civic Center.

The joint project of the North Dakota Department of Transportation and the City of Fargo had a goal of transforming the gateway into a safe, accessible and landscaped passageway to and through the heart of downtown Fargo.

1/2: One block of 11th Street was the last stretch in the six-block project area to be paved. This is a view from earlier this month. This is a veiw looking north on the street at its intersection with Third Avenue, which was also reconstructed in the area project. Drone photo courtesy of Apex Engineering Group

2/2: This is a look at 12th Street North in Fargo that was reconstructed this summer as part of a major road project in the northwest part of of downtown Fargo. The Arc Attic Treasures is in the background. Six blocks were reconstructed in the area as well as sidewalks. Apex Engineering Group drone photo