Welcome!
Thank you for visiting the online meeting for the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Street and Highway Plan Update! The Grand Forks-East Grand Forks MPO serves as a forum for local governments in the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks area to establish policies and plans for transportation planning in the metropolitan area.
About the Plan
Over time, community priorities and growth patterns shift – the Street and Highway Plan Update reflects those changes. This plan is part of the Grand Forks-East Grand Forks MPO Metropolitan Transportation Plan and is updated every five years. It provides an opportunity for the MPO to check in with its partners, stakeholders, and the public on existing and emerging transportation considerations.
This plan will include data analysis & Insights on:
Study Area
This plan covers Grand Forks, ND and East Grand Forks, MN.
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Our Growing Region
Our region is growing. See the predicted increases in households, traffic, and jobs.
Household Growth (2050)
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Job Growth (2050)
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Traffic Growth (2050)
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Project Development Lifecycle
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Strategies Summary
Add Travel Lanes – Widen Roads in Growth Areas
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Purpose
Most roads found in the MPO Area’s future growth areas are currently two lanes and may not be able to support future traffic levels. This strategy would widen these existing roadways by constructing additional travel lanes.
Pros
- Provides additional capacity to facilitate traffic and reduce delay
- Potential to reduce the occurrence of vehicular crashes
Cons
- Potential need to acquire right-of-way could have limited impact on adjacent properties
- Wider roads can cause a reduction in safety for pedestrians and bicyclists
Examples from Plan:
- Columbia Road from 47th Avenue South to 62nd Avenue South (Project 67)
- 62nd Avenue South from Columbia Road to Washington Street (Project 74)
Manage Current 4-Lane Roads Travel Lanes – Widen Roads in Growth Areas
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Purpose
Transportation Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) strategies can effectively alleviate congestion and safety without adding travel lanes. TSMO examples include travel demand management, traffic signal technologies, and signal coordination
Pros
- Cost-effective solutions to enhance traffic operations
- The broad range of strategies can be bundled together and tailored to fit local conditions
Cons
- TSMO is not always as effective at addressing traffic congestion as adding lane capacity
- Standalone TSMO strategies can have limited benefit to vehicle throughput
Examples from Plan:
- 32nd Avenue South from I-29 to Washington Street (Project 19)
- Columbia Road from 36th Avenue South to DeMers Avenue (Project 31)
New Bridge Crossing
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Purpose
Construct a new bridge crossing over rail lines and rivers to enhance connections between communities. Providing new routes for travelers can increase access and relieve traffic congestion at existing crossings.
Pros
- Alleviate traffic congestion at existing bridge crossings by offering a new route over the Red River
- Increase access and provide reliable connections to neighborhoods and commercial areas
Cons
- High cost of construction, increased long-term expenditures for maintenance
Examples from Plan:
- South side urban bridge (Project 4)
- Merrifield Road bridge (Project 6)
Project Map
There are over 80 projects as part of this plan throughout the entire metro area.
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Future Build Scenario Traffic Patterns
The range of projects shown in the Project Map were developed to address the mobility and safety challenges that the region faces as a result of this traffic growth. The earlier traffic forecast growth map showed how much traffic would grow between today and 2050 with no new projects constructed other than the 47th Ave South interchange (the 2050 “Existing-plus-committed” scenario). To see how the future traffic volumes would change with all of these potential project alternatives in place, all 80+ projects were included in some build condition scenarios in the regional travel demand model (TDM). The resulting maps show how traffic patterns would change comparing the earlier 2050 “existing-plus-committed” scenario to the 2050 build condition project scenario. The following three scenarios show how daily traffic volumes are anticipated to change with:
Scenario 1 – both a south end intercity bridge and a Merrifield Road bridge
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Scenario 2 – Just a Merrifield Road bridge
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Scenario 3 – Just a south end intercity bridge
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Please note that these maps reflect the change in 2050 no build (“existing-plus-committed”) scenario compared to the 2050 build scenarios. Segments with blue or decreased traffic volumes mean that volumes are lower in the 2050 build scenario compared to the 2050 no build scenario, not a decrease in traffic volumes from current levels.
Primary Project Focus Area
Majority of these projects are in these 8 focus areas.
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Input Opportunity
Of these eight focus areas the project team would like to get your feedback on how you would prioritize this list. Sort these focus areas from 1 (top priority) to 8 (lowest priority) below.
Open House Materials
An open house meeting was held on September 21, 2023 at the River Cinema. Materials presented at the open house are presented below.
