Bemidji intersection to become four-way stop for hydrant project

Drivers at Irvine Avenue and 15th Street faced a temporary four-way stop starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday, May 19, as crews worked on a hydrant project. The traffic change was expected to last through Wednesday, May 20, putting a short but direct interruption in the path of one of Bemidji’s familiar neighborhood crossings.

The detour mattered because Irvine Avenue carries daily traffic for school trips, commutes, errands and deliveries, and even a two-day shift in control can change how quickly vehicles move through the area. Temporary stop signs at the intersection were meant to slow traffic and give crews a safer work zone while the hydrant-related work continued.

The project also fit into the larger responsibilities of Bemidji Public Works, which says it employs 24 full-time workers and maintains 80 miles of streets and sidewalks. The department manages street, water, sanitary sewer, stormwater and traffic-signal infrastructure, along with related construction projects, so a small utility job at Irvine and 15th fell squarely within the kind of work that keeps the city’s system functioning.

Bemidji has been steadily rebuilding that system for years. The city says its annual street renewal program began in 2008, and since then it has reconstructed, renewed or paved about 19 miles of city streets. Its 2024-2028 plan would add another 6.6 miles, bringing the total to roughly 26 miles and putting about 28% of Bemidji’s 94-mile street system through reconstruction within a 20-year period. The plan also says about 4.5 miles of gravel streets remain, while construction costs have climbed roughly 30% to 50% in recent years.

The Irvine stop-control change came during a busy construction season. Bemidji’s 2026 street renewal project began May 11 and is scheduled to run into September, weather permitting, with work on portions of 11th Street NW, 10th Street NW and Jeannette Avenue NW. Normal hours for that project are set for 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, including some Saturdays.

Irvine Avenue has seen major changes before. Beltrami County completed the CSAH 15 reconstruction and Anne Street roundabout project in 2023, a half-mile urban project designed to improve safety, drainage, pedestrian facilities, pavement conditions and traffic flow. That work included ADA ramps and crossings in all four quadrants and an 8-foot shared-use path from 30th Street to Anne Street, underscoring Irvine’s role as a key corridor where even brief traffic changes ripple through daily travel.