Apex Engineering Group provided design and construction engineering services for the reconstruction of 13th Avenue South from 38th Street to 45th Street South. This major arterial is one of the busiest corridors in North Dakota, providing access to one of the largest shopping malls in the region and a thriving business and retail district. Reconstructing this corridor was necessary to improve safety, mobility and capacity for the traveling public.

The City of Fargo entrusted the engineers and designers at Apex Engineering Group to oversee the public involvement, planning, design and plan production for this 6-lane urban reconstruction project. The design consisted of replacing the existing 4-lane divided roadway with a 6-lane thoroughfare. A new 10 foot shared use path was provided on the south side of the roadway, and a new six foot sidewalk was provided on the north side of the street.

The project entailed replacing the water valves and hydrants to meet current design standards, sanitary sewer rehabilitation, and storm sewer replacement to optimize storage. New street lighting was designed throughout the project corridor and new traffic control signals were designed at 38th Street, 42nd Street, and 43rd ½ Street.

The City of Fargo required at least one lane of traffic to be maintained in each direction on 13th Avenue South throughout construction. Apex developed a detailed phasing and work zone traffic control plan, with the multi-phased construction required over 10 major traffic shifts. Notably, the intersection of 13th Avenue and 42nd Street, which carries 45,000 vehicles per day, was constructed while maintaining traffic in all directions, as the contractor was required to excavate, remove and replace public utilities, and install the concrete pavement. In addition, Apex coordinated with the existing private utility companies along the corridor, many of which had to be relocated in order to avoid project delays. Pavement marking & signing was also included in the final design of the project.

The City of Fargo received a grant from the State of North Dakota during the 2013 Legislative Session that was to be used for road reconstruction purposes. The 13th Avenue South reconstruction project was moved forward to utilize this special state funding.

Due to the high visibility of this project, a marketing and communications firm was enlisted to serve as a public information coordinator. The public outreach program utilized bi-weekly meetings for businesses, a project specific website, social media and local news casts to keep the public informed. Apex staff worked diligently to quickly resolve issues that could have brought the project to a halt, allowing the project to be completed on budget and on time without any contract time extensions.

The construction of the project began in the spring of 2016 and was successfully completed in the fall, with Apex providing the construction administration, inspection, and survey. Apex Engineering Group led the preliminary design, final design, plan preparation, and public involvement process, construction administration, inspection, and project closeout phases of the project.