Ash Jordan has watched a lot of near misses from the counter at The Bike Shop, right at the corner of North Avenue and 10th Street. Ask him how many actual crashes he's seen at that intersection over the years and he doesn't hedge: somewhere between a hundred and two hundred, by his count. It's the kind of corner where you learn to glance twice before you step off the curb, whether you're on a bike or just crossing to grab a coffee.
If you've heard that North Avenue is finally getting real sidewalk work this fall, you might assume that corner is first in line. It isn't. The construction breaking ground this fall covers a different stretch entirely, on the far east end of the avenue, and the section around 10th Street stays exactly as narrow and exposed as it's been for years.
The 2.5 Miles Getting Built This Fall
The city's own transportation project page lays out the scope plainly: construction is set to start this fall on detached, eight-foot sidewalks along the north side of North Avenue from 28½ Road east to the I-70 Business Loop, and along the south side from 29 Road to the same endpoint. That's roughly 2.5 miles of new walking surface, separated from traffic by a landscaped buffer strip and tied into upgraded transit stops along the way.
It's real progress on a road that badly needs it. But it's worth being clear about where "it" actually is. The full corridor studied back in 2022, when the Regional Transportation Planning Office and the city ran their Enhanced Transit Corridor Study, stretches 3.75 miles from 1st Street all the way to the Business Loop. This fall's project covers the outer portion of that, the part closest to the interstate, not the section that runs through the older, denser heart of the neighborhood.
Here's how the corridor actually breaks down right now:
| Segment | Status this fall |
|---|---|
| 1st Street to 12th Street | No funded construction |
| 12th Street to 23rd Street | Already widened with a detached walk, built in an earlier phase |
| 23rd Street to 28½/29 Road | No funded construction |
| 28½/29 Road to I-70 Business Loop | Under construction starting fall 2026 |
That middle gap, the blocks between 23rd and 28½, and the longer stretch from 1st all the way to 12th, sit outside both the older completed work and the new funding. The Bike Shop's intersection at 10th and North falls squarely in that second gap.
Why the Grants Landed on the East End First
None of this is arbitrary neglect. The money behind the fall project comes almost entirely from outside sources: a federal Transportation Alternative Program grant and a state Multimodal Options Fund grant, both administered through the Colorado Department of Transportation. In the city's 2026 capital budget, those two grants and related state transit funds add up to just over $6.8 million, with the city covering only about $261,800 of the total from its 0.75 percent sales tax. That's a small local match for a multimillion dollar project, and it's a big part of why this specific stretch got funded when it did. Grant dollars go where the grant criteria point, and this segment scored well.
It's worth flagging that the project's price tag has moved around across budget cycles. The 2025 capital documents listed the same scope at $4.35 million. The city's transportation director told the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel late last year the estimate had grown to $4.95 million, with the city's share at $375,000. By the 2026 adopted budget, the combined grant total alone had climbed past $6.8 million. Costs on public infrastructure projects tend to shift as design work firms up, so the growing number likely reflects refined estimates rather than scope creep, but it's a reminder that the final bill on a project like this rarely matches the first press release.
There's also a pending piece that could eventually close the gap around 10th Street. The city is pursuing a Safe Streets for All federal grant worth an additional $3.2 million specifically to expand the project's scope. If it comes through, more of the corridor, potentially including the section past The Bike Shop, could get funded work sooner than it otherwise would. Until then, that stretch waits.
What Actually Changes on Your Route This Fall
If your daily path touches the east end of North Avenue, expect the usual rhythm of a multi-season public works project: excavation and grading first, curb and gutter work, then the sidewalk pours, and landscaping and lighting toward the end. The city's transportation director has said the project could stretch into 2027 once the plantings go in, so don't expect the whole 2.5-mile stretch to wrap up in a single season.
The section between 12th and 23rd, the one already built out with a detached walk, remains the model for what the rest of the corridor is aiming for. If you've walked or biked that stretch, you already know the difference a landscaped buffer makes. It's the reason the 2022 study pushed so hard for the same treatment everywhere else.
For everyone commuting through the middle of the corridor, near Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction High School, Lincoln Park, or the VA Medical Center, the sidewalks stay as they are for now. That's the same corridor the 2022 study flagged for the worst gaps in pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and it's also where a lot of the neighborhood's daily foot and bike traffic actually happens, given the schools, the university, and the hospital campus all sitting along that stretch.
An Avenue That's Waited Before
North Avenue has a longer memory than most of the roads in the valley. It grew out of the Midland Trail, one of the country's first transcontinental auto routes, laid out in 1913. For decades it was the commercial spine of Grand Junction, home to grocery stores, department stores, and gas stations that served the whole valley. Mesa Mall opened in the 1980s. Over time, North Avenue's commercial role changed, and it became a busy commuter route.
Rebuilding it has been a slow, piecemeal process. The 12th to 23rd Street section took years to complete. The current phase took a formal study, a multi-year design process, and a stack of state and federal grants just to fund 2.5 of the corridor's 3.75 miles. None of that is a knock on the people doing the work. It's just the honest pace of infrastructure funded mostly by outside grants rather than a single local decision.
For residents, the practical takeaway is simple: this fall's project is real and it's a genuine improvement for the east end of North Avenue, but it's not the fix for the stretch most people picture when they complain about the avenue. That fix depends on a grant that hasn't been awarded yet.
If you're curious how projects like this one shape day to day life in North Grand Junction, or you're weighing a move within the neighborhood and want someone who actually tracks what's happening block by block, The Maves Group is always glad to talk through what's changing and what it means for you. Start Your Move with Maves.
