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NDDOT expects to have plans ready in 2026 for intersection, Business Loop West in Jamestown

Feb. 19—JAMESTOWN — The North Dakota Department of Transportation is expected to have plans ready to go to bid by May 1, 2026, for a project to reconstruct a major intersection and road in Jamestown, according to Wayne Zacher, urban engineer for the NDDOT. The project would reconstruct the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and Business Loop West from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southeast. The two bridges on Business Loop West will also be replaced. The project includes restriping 1st Avenue South from 7th to 10th Street Southeast to help match the configuration of the Road Diet project further north in the downtown area. The NDDOT has not made a final decision on the options for the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and the reconstruction of Business Loop West from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southeast. Mayor Dwaine Heinrich said the NDDOT made a recommendation to the Jamestown City Council and the council unanimously agreed with its recommendation. The recommendation included a roundabout for the U.S. Highway 52 and 10th Street Southeast intersection and a five-lane road with a two-way left-turn lane for Business Loop West, which is similar to the existing road. Zacher said the NDDOT wants everything ready for the project to go to bid by May 1, 2026. He said the project is expected to use funds for 2027. He said the NDDOT's consultant has received multiple recommendations for the options. "The consultant is actually working through the comments and recommendations that were received during the draft document review, and then once those are incorporated, they'll be resubmitted, and then we will work through our process and up to our deputy director for engineering to make all my decisions on how to move forward with the project," Zacher said. The other three alternatives for the 10th Street Intersection are a radial T, double crossover and displaced left turns. "I do believe that the roundabout is the best option for that," Heinrich said. "I believe ... that intersection is quite frankly a perfect one for a roundabout." Heinrich said a roundabout will be safer at the intersection. "There have been a fairly good number of accidents there over the past years," he said. "My guess is that that number will be reduced." Heinrich said the roundabout will help prevent traffic congestion in other areas in Jamestown. "You're just going to swap to the roundabout a little bit and move on right through and keep traffic flowing," he said. " ... It should keep that traffic flowing." He said the city won't have to worry about traffic lights failing at the intersection as well. "There's also the added safety feature here of crosswalks with rapid-flashing beacons on both sides of the road and one in a middle median to make it much easier for pedestrian traffic to pass through there," Heinrich said. The other three alternatives for the reconstruction of Business Loop West are four lanes with full intersection access at all streets with raised medians, four lanes with three-fourths intersection access with a raised median and four-lane right-in and right-out intersection access with a raised median. The estimated cost is nearly $9.2 million for the roundabout and about $6.5 million for the five-lane road with a two-way left-turn lane, according to an NDDOT report with SRF Consulting Group as the principal author. The purpose of the project is to address bridge and pavement condition, vehicular traffic operations and sidewalks for bicyclists or individuals who walk along and adjacent to the U.S. Highway 52 corridor in Jamestown from 7th Street to 4th Avenue Southwest, the NDDOT report says. The report says the city of Jamestown's Land Use and Transportation Plan identifies the need to improve traffic operations and pedestrian comfort at the intersection of 1st Avenue South and 10th Street Southeast. The Land Use and Transportation Plan also identifies the need to address gaps in the sidewalk and trail system in the general area. The roundabout option includes a single-lane roundabout and single-lane bypass lanes for all three approaches. It also includes two-lane entries to all streets. The bypass lanes would have medians painted on pavement separating them from the circular roadway. The roundabout will include raised medians to separate lanes opposing directions of traffic and to help create a refuge for pedestrians, the report says. Painted medians between the roundabout and bypass lanes will reduce the total pedestrian crossing distances. The roundabout option requires the acquisition of permanent right of way from northeast properties and parking space reconfiguration. The properties include the former Hardee's and the building that houses Cornerstone Nutrition and Kropp Law Offices P.C. The five-lane option is similar to what currently exists on Business Loop West, the report says. Tenth Street Southwest and Riverside Drive would be realigned so vehicles can easily cross Business Loop West. The five-lane option also has two protected pedestrian crossings adjacent to U.S. Highway 52. Portions of the two-way left-turn lane may be removed at potential pedestrian crossing locations to allow for the construction of a pedestrian refuge. All side-street and mainline vehicle movements will be permitted at public intersections. The estimated cost of the five-lane option is about $6.5 million. The radial T includes two lanes for southbound and westbound traffic going westbound. It would include one lane for eastbound traffic going northbound, eastbound going eastbound, southbound going eastbound and westbound going northbound. It would also include one traffic signal and pedestrian crossings. The estimated cost is more than more than $8.7 million for the radial T intersection. The double crossover includes three traffic signals with pedestrian crossings. Left-turn movements would cross over at two signals. Only right turns would be allowed to get onto 2nd Avenue Southeast or get off that street. The estimated cost is more than $9.3 million for the double crossover intersection. The intersection with the displaced left turns includes westbound left-turn movements that would cross over at the east signal. The intersection would include two traffic signals with pedestrian crossings. Only right turns would be allowed to get onto 2nd Avenue Southeast or get off that street. The estimated cost is more than $9.3 million for the displaced left turns intersection. The other three alternatives for the reconstruction of Business Loop West are four lanes with full intersection access at all streets with raised medians, four lanes with three-fourths intersection access with a raised median and four-lane right-in and right-out intersection access with a raised median. The four-lane option with full intersection includes installing raised medians from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southwest and from 10th Street Southwest to 2nd Avenue Southwest. Tenth Street Southwest and Riverside Drive would be realigned. There would be a left-turn lane for eastbound and westbound traffic to turn onto 10th Street Southwest. The estimated cost is $6.4 million for the four-lane option with a full intersection including raised medians. The four-lane option with three-fourths intersection access includes installing raised medians from 4th Avenue Southwest to 10th Street Southwest, 10th Street Southwest to 2nd Avenue Southwest and 2nd Avenue Southwest to the 10th Street Southeast intersection. Traffic from 4th Avenue Southwest, 10th Street Southwest and 2nd Avenue Southwest would only be able to make right turns to get onto Business Loop West. There would be a left-turn lane for eastbound and westbound traffic to turn onto 10th Street Southwest. A left-turn lane for westbound traffic would also be added to turn onto 2nd Avenue Southwest. The estimated cost is more than $6.4 million for the four-lane option with three-fourths intersection. The four-lane right-in and right-out intersection option includes installing a median from the bottom of Mill Hill to the 10th Street Southeast intersection. Only right turns would be allowed for traffic on 4th Avenue Southwest, 10th Street Southwest, Riverside Drive and 2nd Avenue Southwest. The estimated cost is about $5.9 million for the four-lane right-in and right-out intersection option.