September 20, 2023

Roberts Alley Project in Downtown Fargo Nearly Complete

| MacGregor Sharpe |

This story originally appeared on KVRR. The featured image is by Dan Francis Photography.

After many delays in construction, Roberts Alley’s new look is close to complete.

The project is a joint venture between the City of Fargo, Xcel Energy, and Kilbourne Group to remove the unattractive hanging power lines and utility poles from the alley. This project has taken seven years to complete.

The president of Kilbourne Group, Mike Almendinger, says, “Initially it started out with the observation that we needed to do some improvements in safety of the power lines that are running through the alley, and then [it became] an opportunity to update the infrastructure that all the buildings have along Roberts Alley as well.”

The infrastructure improvements have cost over a million dollars throughout the project to give the alley a new look.

Almendinger said, “We had to bury all the power lines, we had to find a new location for the transformers, and then the complex part is we had to run secondary lines to all of the buildings as well. So it’s taken a long time to work on this.”

The upgrade to Roberts Alley will help bring foot traffic to the 25 businesses located along the alley.

Almendinger also said, “It’s great to see the power lines down and enjoy all the businesses that are adjacent to Roberts Alley.”

This project will help bring more customers to small businesses in the newly updated alley.