Business Owners on Center Avenue React to Closure
The road is currently closed between 10th Street and 14th Street, and is expected to fully reopen in November of next year.
MOORHEAD, MN (KVRR) – Adam Wiedman owns the Starbird Lounge on Center Avenue in Moorhead.
He says, even though he’s been well aware of the impending shutdown of Center for underpass construction, it’s still been difficult to hammer out logistics, such as how delivery trucks will access the building.
His neighbor, Jill Johnson of the Words to Live By bookstore, is even more concerned by the drop in customers she’s seen since the closure began.
“With the sign at the end of the street saying ‘Road Closed’, we have noticed that we don’t get any traffic,” she said.
She feels that particular signage could be clearer, because it doesn’t indicate that for now, her business is still technically accessible.
Sean Syverson of Swing Barrel Brewing Company has it a little easier, as you can get to his establishment through this parking lot entrance off 8th Street North, but he knows that the shutdown will still pose some difficulties.
“It certainly has its challenges,” he admitted. “But it’s nothing we can’t get around, nothing we can’t work through.”
Overall, he’s focused on how beneficial this project will be for Moorhead once complete – an optimistic outlook also shared by Starbird.
“I think this is going to be fantastic for Moorhead as a whole,” said Wiedman. “Having Center Avenue be approachable, be walkable, not having cars flying by at seven thousand miles an hour with five lanes of traffic out here – I think it’s going to be fantastic.”
The City of Moorhead sent us a statement regarding the construction, which says in part, “We understand that this will be a challenging time, and we want our business community to know that we are here to support them and hope our community will continue showing up and support the businesses that make downtown Moorhead unique.”
