Road projects on pace

Published Monday, September 12, 2005

Major road construction projects are on schedule for completion or are finished despite delays from heavy rains this summer.

Nearly 8.5 inches of rain fell in the Fargo-Moorhead area in June, the fifth-wettest period for that month in 125 years. More than 7.5 inches fell during August, buoyed by rainfall amounts of 3.11 on Aug. 17 and 2.29 on Aug. 25.

We’ve had some wet Junes, so it wasn’t a huge shock,” said Greg McCormick with Northern Improvement Co., the 45th Street project general contractor, in mid-July. “The rain wasn’t a total disaster or anything.”

Construction crews have 60 days to complete construction on 45th Street between 18th Avenue South and Interstate 94, said Brenda Derrig, the street’s project engineer. The $9 million reconstruction of 45th Street from Ninth Avenue North to Interstate 94 – designed to accommodate increased traffic brought on by rapid development in southwest Fargo – began in early May.

Crews reduced traffic at 45th Street and Interstate 94 to one lane in each direction Tuesday to widen the northbound lane and work on the bridge’s approach. Work is still being done on the west side of 45th between 16th Avenue South and 19th Avenue South, Derrig said.

“There have been no delays since mid-July,” Derrig said. “(Crews) have been going very well.”

Construction crews are scheduled to finish installing crossover and ramp connections by late October on Interstate 29 in preparation for next summer’s widening of the interstate from Main Avenue to Cass County Highway 20.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation shifted traffic Tuesday to the median lane on southboundI-29 from just south of 12th Avenue North to Main Avenue.

The lane closure is expected to last two to three weeks as crews finish widening the shoulder.

The $1.5 million project will allow drivers to Exit I-29 at Main Avenue, 12th Street North, 19th Avenue North and Cass County 20 while crews widen the interstate to three lanes in each direction. The I-29 project, in its sixth year, should be complete by 2007, said Kevin Gorder, assistant district engineer for the NDDOT.

Meanwhile, several other area projects are on track for completion before their deadlines.

Sidewalk repair and street light additions are complete on 32nd Street South between 13th Avenue and 17th Avenue in Fargo, Derrig said.

Near Hawley, Minn., construction crews have been on an aggressive schedule to bring the Highway 10 and Highway 32 interchange project just east of the city to a conclusion, said Judy Jacobs with the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

“(Crews) have been working six days a week – sun up to sun down – in order to get that project built,” Jacobs said. “They have made great progress since late June.”

Officials are aiming for a November completion date for the $8.6 million project, which includes a bridge over Highway 10, a diamond, four-ramp interchange and lowering a short stretch of the highway by 10 feet in both directions. Rollover accidents on the highway had been a problem in the past.

Two homes that fell within the diamond interchange have been demolished as part of a right-of-way acquisition by MnDOT, said Project Manager Trudy Kordosky.

The next public meeting for the project is at 11 a.m. Oct. 5 at Hawley’s City Hall.

Readers can reach Forum reporter Joe Whetham at (701) 241-5557

Photo Caption: Crews operate at least seven earth movers Friday at the intersection of U.S. Highway 10 and Minnesota Highway 32 east of Hawley. Two new lanes of Highway 10 are in the foreground while earthmovers cut down what will be two new eastbound lanes. Highway 32 extends to the south in the background. Michael Vosburg / Forum Photo Editor