Jill Johnson's bookstore at 819 Center Ave. stayed reachable while crews worked around it. Johnson told KVRR that customers dropped off anyway, because a "Road Closed" sign made a shop people could still reach look like one they couldn't.
That sign is gone from the block between Eighth and 10th Streets. Center Avenue reopened on Friday, Aug. 21, and the street that came back is a different shape from the one that closed. It used to have five driving lanes. It now has three, with on-street parking on the south side and a bike lane on the north. Moorhead rebuilt its main downtown block for people who stop there. A few hundred feet east, the 11th Street Underpass is about to take on the job of moving traffic through downtown.
The city paid extra to get the block back sooner
The Center Avenue rebuild between Eighth and 10th closed to traffic June 24. Assistant city engineer Clay Lexen told The FM Extra the project was expected to take up to 90 days. The $3.6 million contract offered an early-completion incentive of about 5% if the work finished in 60 days or less. Contractor Dakota Underground finished in under eight weeks and earned an extra $177,000.
Lexen said the city doesn't usually put that kind of incentive in its contracts. It did here because businesses on the block had already been affected for years by work in the area, including the underpass. So the city counted the cost of a closed street in business days as well as construction days, and it paid to shorten the closure.
Here is how the block changed:
| Before the 2026 rebuild | After Aug. 21, 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Driving lanes | Five | Three |
| On-street parking | None noted | South side |
| Bike access | None noted | North-side bike lane linking the river corridor to the trail east of 11th Street |
The bike lane changes how the block connects to the rest of town. According to The FM Extra, the new lane links the river corridor to the trail heading east from 11th Street, so the stretch between Eighth and 10th now joins two routes that used to be separate.
Who held on along the block
Several businesses kept their doors open through two years of staged closures. During the summer rebuild, the city and the Greater Moorhead Business Association ran a promotion that featured one business per week in July and August, with specials to bring customers back through the coned-off area. The places you can walk to again:
- Swing Barrel Brewing Company, 814 Center Ave. Co-owner Sean Syverson told InForum the brewery has dealt with road work nearby on and off since it opened in 2020. He told KVRR the impacts were challenging but manageable, and that customers could get in through the 8th Street parking lot entrance.
- Starbird Lounge, 817 Center Ave. The tiki bar opened quietly on Sept. 27, 2024, in the middle of underpass construction. Owner Adam Wiedman told KVRR the closure made it harder for delivery trucks to reach the building.
- Words to Live By Bookstore, 819 Center Ave. Johnson told InForum it meant a lot to her when customers made the effort to shop local during construction.
- Armory Event Center and Annex, 904 Center Ave.
- Mick's Office, 10 Eighth St. S. It went back to family operation in 2024.
- Dairy Queen, Absolute Style Boutique and NAPA Auto Parts were also featured in the summer promotion.
Most of these are places people go to sit for a while: a brewery, a tiki lounge, a bookstore, an event hall. Curbside parking and a bike lane suit that kind of block better than five lanes of traffic did.
The underpass is set to carry the traffic that used to run down Center
The new layout depends on the 11th Street Underpass. That project builds two underpasses on 11th Street beneath the BNSF lines. One runs between Main and Center avenues, the other between Center and First Avenue North. Drivers, cyclists and people on foot will go under the tracks instead of waiting at a crossing. MnDOT's project page also lists sidewalk, bicycle and ADA improvements.
This is the problem the project was built to fix. In a 2023 InForum report, MnDOT cited more than 70 trains a day and about five hours of combined traffic disruption across Moorhead each day. The underpass cost $115 million, and construction started in 2024. Ames Construction is the main contractor.
The opening date is still unsettled. At a Sept. 15 construction update, MnDOT spokesperson Emma Olson said the underpass is expected to open in mid-October. Ames project engineer Nathan Goulet said the contractor aims to finish by Oct. 15, with fencing and electrical work still left to do. The city says it will announce the official opening date separately. MnDOT's construction page still lists the Stage 3 closure on Center Avenue from 10th to 14th Streets, and it routes east–west traffic to First or Main avenues. Until the city announces the opening, plan on the current detours east of 10th.
October on and around the block
The rebuilt block hosts its first big public event this week, and several other fall dates fall within a short walk of it.
| Date | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Tuesdays through Oct. 27, 3:30–6:30 p.m. | Moorhead Farmers Market | Trinity Lutheran Church parking lot, 213 8th St. S., per the city's 2026 market page |
| Wed., Oct. 7, 4 p.m. | Underpass ribbon cutting and program | 11th Street and Center Avenue |
| Wed., Oct. 7, starting 5 p.m. | Community block party | Center Avenue, Eighth to 10th Streets |
| Thu., Oct. 8, 5–7 p.m. | RiverHaven 90th-anniversary open house | 701 First Ave. N. |
| Tue., Oct. 13, 3:30–5:30 p.m. | 11th/14th Street corridor open house | Christianson Alumni Center, 707 11th St. S. |
City pages don't agree on where the farmers market meets. The general Parks and Recreation page mentions Viking Ship Park, so check with organizers before you go.
The city lists the Oct. 7 block party as running until 8 p.m. InForum reported that it goes until 8:30. After the ribbon cutting, emergency vehicles will make the first ceremonial drive through the underpass. The party itself will have booths from downtown businesses, a food truck and live music on the newly paved block.
RiverHaven's open house is free. It includes appetizers, games, live music, archival photos, a short history talk and a cash bar. The building went up in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project and first served as an American Legion and community hall. In 2024, its owner told InForum that after coordinating with crews, construction noise, dust and traffic hadn't disrupted events there.
Downtown mornings start earlier now
The other change on Center Avenue this fall is about hours. Starting Oct. 1, The Loop at 450 Center Ave. opens for self-service access before staff arrive. Library cardholders 18 and older can use the Essentia Walking Loop and the library's self-checkout to borrow items and pick up holds.
- Monday through Thursday: 7 to 9 a.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 7 to 10 a.m.
- Sunday: 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
To get a key fob, bring a photo ID to the library during regular hours. The building isn't staffed during self-service hours, and security cameras monitor it. The walking loop is free. Paired with the new bike lane, this gives Center Avenue a reason for a morning visit through the winter, even when it's too cold to walk outside.
The next street decision is open for comment
The Oct. 13 open house carries the same kind of change one step further. Right now, 11th and 14th Streets work as a one-way pair between Main Avenue and 12th Avenue South. The city wants comments on a possible two-way conversion and on other walking, biking and driving changes in that corridor. Once traffic starts using the underpass, 11th Street becomes the main north–south route under the tracks. How the city sets up that corridor will affect how people get to and around the rebuilt Center Avenue block.
How downtown streets work affects how people value a home nearby, from parking right outside to whether a train can hold you up. If you own near Center Avenue or along the 11th Street corridor and want to know how these changes could show up in your home's value, Tyler Bretz can walk you through it block by block. Get a Free Home Valuation.
