Road Closure Announcements

Monday, August 24, 2009 - MPS has scheduled road repairs in Moorhead as a part of MPS’ summer watermain replacement program. On Wednesday, August 26, 2009, MPS’ contractors will be working through the 2009 projects. The three projects included in 2009 are:

1. 20th Avenue from 9th Street to 11th Street South
2. 16th Street from 4th Avenue to 6th Avenue South
3. 18th Street from 4th Avenue to 5th Avenue South

During the next two weeks, contractors will be closing these roads as they work through the project list. Residents that use these roads are encouraged to find alternate routes over the next two weeks.

20th Avenue Closure:

16th Street and 18th Street Closure:

Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness

Road Closed in North Moorhead

Thursday, July 30, 2009 - Moorhead Public Service (MPS) has scheduled a road closure in north Moorhead for watermain repair. The road closure will affect 11th Street North from 8th Avenue to 9th Avenue North beginning today Thursday, July 30, 2009. The watermain is expected to be repaired by the end of the day. Residents that use this portion of 11th Street North are encouraged to find alternate routes during the day.

Road Closure Information:
Street: 11th Street North from 8th Avenue to 9th Avenue North
Dates: Beginning Thursday, July 30, 2009, lasting approximately one day


Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness

Electric Construction Report

Monday, July 13, 2009 - As you are driving around Moorhead this summer, you may see our crews out working and wonder what we are working on. This summer we have several large projects in place to improve the electric system reliability, stability, and operational efficiency.

1. The first project was a cable replacement project on 3rd St. S. between 2nd and 4th Ave. S. This project is complete and will allow us to abandon the old cable under the Woodlawn Park which is due for replacement and floods every spring.
2. We also had a cable replacement project in the Moorhead Industrial Park which is also complete.
3. Due to reconstruction of Clay County Road #11, we had the replace 2 miles of 3-phase line which provides power to the MPS' North Buffalo Wells.
4. Currently we are working in the Village Green area with a large cable replacement project that is expected to be completed by the end of July.
5. Other large projects include a feeder tie-line from 14th St. S. and 45th Ave. S. to 6th St. S. and 46th Ave. S. This project will improve the backfeeding capability of the electric distribution system and improve system reliability.
6. Coming up soon is the addition of a feeder from the Southeast Substation to the east side of Mccaras. This project is approximately 2.7 miles long and will improve the ability of the electric distribution system to provide power to the large industrial loads in this area.

Posted by: MPS Electric Distribution Engineer, Leon Emmil

Watermain Replacement, Why?

Friday, July 10, 2009 - We begin another year of watermain replacement projects for Moorhead Public Service. Did you know that this is 25th year of the watermain replacement program at Moorhead Public Service. Many people ask why we need to replace watermains. There are many answers to that question, and I hope to answer those questions in the next couple of bullets below.

• The main reason behind watermain replacement is to reduce the occurrence of watermain breaks which typically occur during the cold winter months of Minnesota.
• As of 2009, Moorhead Public Service has approximately 40 miles of what we classify as watermain that needs to be replaced.
• The pipe material that is replaced is called Cast Iron Pipe. The soils up in this neck of the woods just causes a lot of corrosion to the pipe which leads to the many watermain breaks that occur.
• The pipe material that we replace the Cast Iron Pipe with is called Polyvinylchloride or PVC. The expected life span of this pipe is well beyond my life time and probably my kids lifetime (100 years or greater).
• As of 2009, it is estimated that the total cost of replacing all of the 40 miles of watermain that needs to be replaced it would cost approximately $30 million dollars.
• At the current rate, MPS replaces about 1 mile of watermain a year. Currently, MPS partners with the City of Moorhead on some projects where the City is replacing the street and the watermain under that street is also replaced during the same project. This at times raises our rate of removal to about 2-3 miles per year.
• During the 2009 construction season, MPS has five areas on tap for watermain replacement. Just a reminder to the residents that are affected by these areas this year, our crews are working as fast as they can to get your area back to normal.

Until next time!

Posted by: MPS Water Distribution Engineer, Jared Heller

Lane Closure for Water Service Repair

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 - Moorhead Public Service (MPS) has scheduled a lane closure in south Moorhead for emergency water service repair. The lane closure will affect northbound traffic in one lane on Eighth Street North from Main Avenue to the railroad tracks beginning today, Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The lane closure is expected to last approximately one week and residents that use this portion of Eighth Street are encouraged to find alternate routes over the next week.

Road Closure Information:
Street: 8th Street North from Main Avenue to the Railroad Tracks
Dates: Beginning Wednesday, July 8, for approximately 1 week

Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness

Moorhead road to be closed for watermain replacement

Monday, June 29, 2009 - Moorhead Public Service has scheduled a road closure in south Moorhead for planned watermain replacement. The road closure will affect Sixteenth Street South from Fourth Avenue and Sixth Avenue South beginning Monday, June 29, 2009. The road closure is expected to last approximately three weeks and residents that use this portion of 16th Street are encouraged to find alternate routes over the next few weeks.

Road Closure Information:
Street: 16th Street South from 4th Avenue to 6th Avenue
Dates: Beginning Monday, June 29, for approximately 3 weeks

Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness

Road Closure Announcement

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 - Last week, MPS announced a road closure for 20th Avenue South. MPS crews began working on a watermain replacement project between 9th Street and 11th Street. This area is expected to be closed for about 3 weeks as crews replace old cast iron pipes with new pipes that will last for several years. Below is a map of the affected areas:

Posted by: MPS Communications Director, Doug Rogness