Prepping for Major Construction on 13th Avenue South

Traffic is about to get even more congested along 13th Avenue South in Fargo.

The city is reconstructing the road, and local businesses along the route are already preparing for a bumpy ride.

The road will be torn up for more than six months.

It’s a short term inconvenience in the name of a long term solution.

City engineers say it needs to be done.
 
“We’ve known for some time that this pavement section is falling apart,” says Fargo City Engineer Jeremy Gorden.
 
13th Avenue South will be completely rebuilt between 38th and 44th streets, to ease congestion.

It will no longer be a four lane road.
 
“Widening it to a six lane roadway,” explains Gorden.
 
The city is also improving pedestrian access, with new sidewalks along the eastbound lane.
 
“That doesn’t exist there,” Gorden says. “We’re gonna add that in.”

In the meantime, congestion will get worse.

Construction starts in late April, and should wrap up in October.

The project is being done in five phases.

At least one lane of traffic will be open each way at all times.

But businesses along 13th are bracing for problems.

Lee Paseka, owner of Sweet Dreams Confections, says he’s a, “little apprehensive because it’s gonna be a traffic tie-up.”
 
Paseka says he expects the traffic snarl to drag down business.
 
“I would assume so,” he adds, “You know, people are creatures of habit.”
 
Obviously business owners aren’t excited about months of congestion and
closed lanes on 13th Avenue, but they say it’s a necessary evil.
 
“Right now it gets really bad”, says Annie Savaugeau with Jenny Craig. “It’s almost impossible to turn right out of Hornbacher’s here onto 13th.”
 
Workers at Jenny Craig are already planning on how to deal with the construction.
 
“I don’t have enough patience to bite the bullet and go on 13th,” Savaugrau adds. “I will take some side streets. I’ll probably take…I don’t know if I want to tell anyone my secret!”
 
Folks can take other east-west roads, like Main Avenue or 17th Avenue South.
 
Gorden adds, “There are good parallel access routes, which should help.”
 
Six or seven months of traffic headaches, followed hopefully by decades of smooth sailing along one of Fargo’s main routes.
 
The reconstruction will also make 13th Avenue South safer.

The westbound intersection at 42nd Street is a high-crash site because it bottlenecks when the street goes from three lanes to two.

The city has set up a website to update progress on the project.

That site can be viewed here.