Veterans Boulevard Divided Arterial Roadway

The project consisted of constructing a new urbanized divided arterial roadway and associated utilities for future Veteran’s Boulevard and a 3-lane roadway on 32nd Avenue. Veteran’s Boulevard was constructed between 23rd Avenue and 32nd Avenue on the boundary between West Fargo and Fargo and 32nd Avenue was replaced between Veteran’s Boulevard and 51st Avenue South in Fargo. The existing gravel surface rural roadway sections were replaced with an urbanized concrete street with curvilinear multi-use paths, decorative street lights, trees, bushes, and medians.

Veterans Boulevard divides West Fargo and Fargo beginning at the new I-94 interchange. It is West Fargo’s gateway to the newer neighborhoods south of I-94 and the new Sheyenne 9th Grade Center, as well as future development land in the southwest corner of the interchange. 32nd Avenue is an arterial roadway leading from the residential areas in the southern half of West Fargo into the new commercial areas on the west side of Fargo.

Veterans Boulevard divides West Fargo and Fargo beginning at the new I-94 interchange. It is West Fargo’s gateway to the newer neighborhoods south of I-94 and the new Sheyenne 9th Grade Center, as well as future development land in the southwest corner of the interchange. 32nd Avenue is an arterial roadway leading from the residential areas in the southern half of West Fargo into the new commercial areas on the west side of Fargo. A major design consideration was to provide capacity for the future volumes of traffic that are expected on the roadways. Two through lanes are provided in each direction on Veteran’s Boulevard, along with faux dual left turn lanes and several designated right turn lanes. The section would be expandable to six through lanes with auxiliary lanes. 32nd Avenue has a center double left turn lane as well as designated right and left turn lanes at Veteran’s Boulevard, and is designed to be expanded on the north side of the current roadway to its future six lane section width as traffic in the area warrants. Concrete pavement was chosen for the roadway because of the length of its service life and the expectation of large loads as the area develops. Concrete provides a great contrast from the adjacent landscaped areas and black decorative lighting and provides for more reflectivity for lighting system.

A minor design consideration was theintegration of the existing levee on the centerline of the right of way. To reconstruct the levee within the center Street Paving Category median of the new roadway and maintain a 5 foot minimum top width as required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it was necessary to use decorative colored concrete with 1:1 (horizontal: vertical) side slopes to accomplish this. The side slopes presented a major challenge for installers while placing and stamping the concrete, but the result is a unique and useful feature in the center median.

Also within the roadway, colored concrete sections were installed within the crosswalk areas to provide a contrast between the gray roadway surface and the crosswalk area and to alert drivers and pedestrians of the locations of the crosswalks.

In addition to concrete pavement in the roadway, curvilinear concrete multi-use paths were installed on both sides of the roadway to accommodate pedestrian and non-vehicular traffic. Concrete was chosen for multi-use paths to provide visual contrast to the surrounding landscape, long term surface quality, and load capacity to support snow removal equipment. Concrete also allowed for better control of the curved multi-use paths during construction and provides a more reliable surface for skateboarders, rollerbladers, and other similar uses. Decorative colored concrete was used in medians and boulevards in areas too narrow to support vegetation and where deicing materials would have detrimental effects on vegetation. This was also done for a 3’ strip behind the back of curb in the median areas. The decorative colored concrete produces a surface that adds to the aesthetic quality of the project as well as providing a durable, low maintenance surface in narrow median and boulevard areas.

Total project cost was $7.25 million. The installation of the four through lanes (two northbound and two southbound) on Veterans Boulevard was a record setting concrete production. For prime contractor Dakota Underground it was the largest single day concrete paving operation they had performed. For supplier Strata Corporation, it was the largest single day concrete quantity they had provided.