Construction comes to completion on 10th Street North

Construction on 10th Street North is on track to be completed this week.

The construction project included a complete reconstruction of the 10th Street North roadway and underground between 12th and 17th avenues north.

Many students live along 10th Street and make the commute to school each day.

Because of its heavy use over the years, the road “really needed a big facelift,” Kevin Gorder, assistant district engineer for N.D. Department of Transportation (NDDOT), said. “Deteriorated pavement was the big driver for the project.”

The average traffic count for 10th Street North was nearly 10,000 daily vehicles in 2010. A 10 percent increase is estimated for 2030.

The project improved the road’s load-carrying capacity, ride quality, sidewalks, residential driveways, lighting and safety features. The project also included underground work for drainage, storm and sanitary sewers, and water lines.

The improved roadway also incorporates more durable striping and the addition of a bike lane.

“The city has plans to take the bike lane all the way to the downtown campus, from 12th to 4th avenues north,” Gorder said.

Construction will begin on University Drive North to add a bike lane once 10th Street construction is completed.

The detour converted a section of University Drive to two-way traffic. Once construction on the University Drive bike lane begins, traffic will be converted to one-way, one lane for about a week, Gorder said.

Plans for the construction project began in 2009, with the help of NDSU students working with the NDDOT.

Actual construction began in the beginning of April and was scheduled to be complete by mid-September. The construction is ahead of schedule, despite difficulties with underground work, thanks to great working weather, Gorder said.

The NDDOT cautions drivers that more pedestrians are filling the streets now that schools have started their fall semester, Gorder explained.

“Traffic patterns change instantly once school starts,” he said, “so drivers need to be on guard.”