City of Fargo Plans Reconstruction of 1st Avenue North

The engineering department has already begun soliciting feedback with an online survey, and will speak to community members at an open house on October 28.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – The rationale regarding the reimagining of 1st Avenue North in Fargo is simple.

“It’s made its jump to the top because it’s really in pretty poor shape,” said Jeremy Gorden, engineer for the transportation department. “It’s pushing 100 years old.”

The city will attack the project in two stages.

First, they’ll work on a shorter stretch, from North University Drive to 10th Street North, near the Plains Art Museum.

Then, they’ll fix up 10th all the way down to just past the main branch of the Fargo Public Library.

The engineering department has already begun soliciting feedback from those who frequently find themselves on First Avenue.

Much of the input they’ve received concerns pedestrian safety – with issues like speed of traffic and width of crosswalks frequently mentioned.

The city says there are a variety of ways they could address those concerns.

“We are looking at maybe narrowing the road just a hair, to give more room to the sidewalks on each side,” said Gorden.

The construction itself is scheduled to begin in 2028 and run until 2030, with engineers saying they want to make sure they take the time to get this right.

They know the endeavor won’t be easy, but they’re excited for the challenge.

“It is fun to work through the process, and at the end of the day, it’s going to end up being a really good project,” said Gorden.

If you would like to give suggestions to the engineering department in person, there is an open house at Fargo City Hall on Tuesday, October 28.

That will run from 5 to 7 P.M.