Retailers feel road-work pain

By Dave Roepke, The Forum
Published Friday, June 03, 2005

For merchants, it's worse.  "It's killing us," said Dave Craft, manager of Hobby Lobby.

The 95,000-square-foot store at 4427 13th Ave. S. is stuck in the middle of the $12 million project to widen sections of 13th Avenue South and 45th Street from two lanes to three.

Craft said he noticed a drop in customers last month when traffic was limited to one lane each direction on 45th Street. 

But business has been off even more - as much as 25 percent - since a three-block stretch of 13th Avenue was limited to single-lane traffic Tuesday, he said.

"Once they shut down 13th (Avenue), it got worse," he said.

At Denny's Restaurant at 4437 13th Ave. S., the situation is similar, said Jim Hoiland, assistant manager.

"Lunch, breakfast, all day - it's been slow, slow, slow," he said.

Across the street at Media Play, 4444 13th Ave. S., business has been reduced, said Anthony Mastrud, assistant general manager.

People who are planning to come to the store can still get there, Mastrud said, but fewer shoppers are coming in on an impulse because fewer are driving by the store.

"We have seen a drastic difference in the amount of traffic outside the store," he said. "They seem to avoid this corner."

That's an option that wasn't available to Shelly Orth, who was shopping Tuesday at Kohl's Department Stores.

In Fargo for a two-day class, the Wyndmere, N.D., resident has driven through the project three times.

She said she is surprised she has not seen an accident but does not know the city well enough to take alternate routes.

"When you're from out of town and don't know the back ways, it's a nightmare," she said.

The city is doing what it can to limit the impact on businesses, said Fargo Traffic Engineer Jeremy Gorden.

"We'd like to get it in and get out of there as fast as possible," he said.

That's why the city included bonuses for completing the project early and penalties for delays in its contract with the Northern Improvement, the construction firm hired for the project, said Brenda Derrig, the city's project manager.

If it completes the project before Nov. 18, Northern Improvement, will receive an extra $10,000 for each day it beats the deadline, she said. The firm will be penalized $1,000 for each day after Nov. 18 the bulk of the project is not done.

There are similar incentives for the 13th Avenue portion of the project, with the deadline set for the end of July.

Contractors will also be up against a 60-day clock on the portion of the project they have not yet started: 45th Street from 19th Avenue to Interstate 94. Work will begin there in August, Derrig said.

So far, businesses affected by the project have leveled few complaints, she said.

Greg McCormick of Northern Improvement said most merchants have been patient and understand the work will be good for their businesses in the long run.

The project is designed to relieve the pressure created by the increasing volume of traffic along the rapidly developing 45th Street corridor, Gorden said.

By 2030, traffic is expected to double on 45th Street, to 50,000 vehicles per day. Traffic on the portion of 13th Avenue being widened, last measured at about 20,000 cars per day, is also expected to nearly double by then, Gorden said.

Two intersections included in the project, where 45th Street meets 13th and 17th avenues, had the worst possible ranking for congestion, Gorden said.

On a scale of A to F, with A representing a free-flowing intersection and F meaning average delays of 80 second or more, those two crossings were rated F, he said.

Craft said he doubts the wider road will do much for business at Hobby Lobby, though he is glad the city is dealing with the rising traffic in the area.

"At least they're trying to stay ahead of the growth," he said.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Roepke at (701) 241-5535