FARGO - Main Avenue will be ripped up in downtown Fargo next summer, but what it'll look like come fall is still up in the air.

A proposal to turn Main Avenue into a three-lane road between Second Street and University Drive will be fully vetted by consultants before a final decision is made on what the busy east-west arterial will like look after its complete reconstruction in 2018.

Narrowing Main down to three lanes downtown is one of two options to rebuild one of the oldest roads in Fargo, Transportation Engineer Jeremy Gorden said.

City administrators want to keep the road a five-lane stretch. That was also the consensus of business owners at an open house last week, Gorden said.

But the state Department of Transportation, which will pay for a big chunk of the project, wants to examine a proposal to narrow the road, adding bike lanes and more parallel parking, Gorden said.

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Off-peak parking considered

Some business owners are attracted to the three-lane option by the prospect of more parking, Gorden said. But allowing parking during off-peak periods could address the same need, he said.

Such "rush-hour lanes" are seen in larger metropolitan areas, though they require towing enforcement to work, Gorden said.

During its busiest hours, Main has too much volume for just three lanes, so a big element of studying the plan is figuring out the impact on traffic flow.

SRF Consulting of Fargo will study the traffic on Main Avenue and look at First Avenue North and NP Avenue as possible spillover routes for displaced drivers, he said.

About 22,300 vehicles daily use Main just west of University Drive, and 22,480 are on the road daily just east of that intersection, according to a 2015 traffic count by the Fargo Moorhead Metropolitan Council of Governments.

Near the intersection with Broadway, the count dips to about 16,640 per day. Farther east, about 22,000 vehicles travel Main daily at the intersection with Second Street.

Late summer meeting planned

No matter what authorities decide, Main's complete reconstruction in downtown Fargo and just to the west of downtown is set to start next year. The current road and underlying infrastructure was laid down in the 1950s.

The project will definitely include new sewer, water main and storm sewer lines, plus wider sidewalks. It'll take two years, with one segment planned in 2018 and other in 2020.

There's not much difference between the cost of the two plans. Including both years, estimates range from $12.3 million for the five-lane project to nearly $12.6 million for three lanes, according to a SRF.

Gorden said traffic will be detoured during construction, and planners are looking at ways to stage the construction so businesses are affected as little as possible.

A final public input meeting will be held in late July or early August, according to a project timetable. Environmental clearance is expected this summer or fall.

The final design and plan is to be finished this fall or winter, with bidding in spring 2018, and construction starting as soon as possible in the spring, Gorden said.

People who couldn't attend the April 25 input meeting can mail written statements or comments by May 9 to Richard Lane at 1 2nd St. N., Suite 226, Fargo, ND 58102, or email rlane@srfconsulting.com with "Public Input Meeting" in the subject heading.

'Way too early'

Reconstruction of Main Avenue west of University to just east of 25th Street South has been scheduled by the NDDOT for 2020, Gorden said. Plans there are less certain.

"We have to still do the environmental document and narrow the options. There more than likely will have to be properties that will have to be acquired - north side or south side. It's way too early to tell what's going to go on," Gorden said.

City staff have recommended keeping the current five lanes between 25th and 18th Streets, and adding a fifth lane between 18th Street and University.

However, adding a lane on that stretch of Main will require the city to buy rights-of-way from property owners.

If the city sticks to buying properties on the north side of Main from University to 18th Street, and demolishes those properties, city staff have said the remaining land could be turned into a long park.

University Drive work planned, too

South University Drive from 18th Avenue South to just north of Interstate 94 is also on track for reconstruction in 2018, Gorden said.

Gorden said that beyond replacement of the pavement and work on the on and off ramps, a pedestrian underpass will be built on the northwest corner of the intersection, and some access points to South University will be consolidated.

That project, expected to have a big effect on the flow of traffic, will likely be bid this year. It will cost between $4 million and $5 million, Gorden said.