Reconstruction is Set to be Done on 13th Avenue in Fargo and West Fargo

The cities will be updating 13th Avenue from 45th Street in Fargo to 12th Street East in West Fargo

FARGO, N.D. —Thanks to a collaborative effort between the cities of Fargo and West Fargo, 13th Avenue is getting a makeover. The cities will be updating 13th Avenue from 45th Street in Fargo to 12th Street East in West Fargo. Both cities say this project is a long time coming.

“This project is originally built in 1974, so it’s really, really old pavement,”Chris Brungardt, the West Fargo Public Works Director said. “It’s well past its expected life span and it’s been deteriorating, difficult to maintain, its falling apart. It’s probably difficult just to drive on.”

But replacing the aging pavement and infrastructure is just one of the goals for the planned reconstruction project.

“We’re going to be putting three lanes westbound and two lanes going east bound, improve the access, update the signal lights,” Brungradt said. “It should be a very nice corridor for people to use.”

The community won’t only be seeing updates for drivers using 13th Avenue.

“It’s important to give every user road opportunity to use it, so we want to take a look not only at people driving the cars, the pedestrians, the bicyclists,” Brungradt said. “We’re making a 10-foot bike path on one side and we’re having a 6-foot pedestrian path on the other side.”

The main road will remain open at all times during construction with at least one lane open in each direction. And for those planning on traveling a lot this summer, the cities have found a way to keep you constantly informed on project timelines and traffic report updates.

“We will have email notifications when you sign up,” Jason Baker , the Fargo Project Manager said. “You can go to Facebook, Twitter, you can go to FargoStreets.com or WestFargoStreets.com and we will have the existing conditions from what lane closures are out there, what intersections are open and then also big upcoming changes to the traffic control so you can look ahead to see what might be out there this weekend or next week.”

The city says the project is scheduled to begin in May and end in October.