Moorhead & Dilworth City Officials Making High-Traffic Intersection Safer

Some people in Moorhead and Dilworth have been complaining about the dangers of an intersection bordering the cities

MOORHEAD & DILWORTH, Minn. — This intersection near 34th Street South and Highway 10 Frontage Road has been deemed risky for quite a while.

“We’ve had a lot of issues with traffic coming out from one side or the other, trying to make a left–hand turn, and it’s just impossible to do. Well, I don’t want to say impossible to do, but it’s very dangerous to do,” says Dilworth City Administrator Peyton Mastera.

So dangerous that more than 60 crashes have taken place there over the past three years.

“It’s our responsibility, once we see something like this, that’s a repeated occurrence, just to address it the best way we see fit,” he says.

They addressed it last year by painting right–turn only arrows on the pavement.

But that still didn’t seem to do the trick, as drivers continued to cross six lanes to get to the other side of the road.

The cities hope newly–placed traffic signs prohibiting drivers from turning left will get the message across.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re coming from Moorhead or from Dilworth, right turn only. That’s the only way that you’re allowed to go. And both our cities and both our police departments are on board with that,” says Moorhead City Traffic Engineer John Atkins.

With increasing traffic in the area, he says there may be a possibility of doing even more to keep people safe.

“We’re exploring the opportunity to do an actual concrete median that runs in the shape of where the pavement markings are today to do what’s called a three quarter access. So, it allows from 34th Street left turns into the Frontage Road, but it stops left turns out of through movements across from Frontage Road,” says Atkins.

They both say although it may be inconvenient, it’s important to prioritize one thing.

“Safety first, right? I mean, that’s the most important thing. We’re trying to ensure the safest route possible for both of our citizens in both communities,” says Mastera.

He says he appreciates the cooperation from both Dilworth and Moorhead drivers to make the spot safer for everyone.

The right–turn only sign has been up on the Dilworth side for a month and a half.

Moorhead’s went up just a couple of days ago.