A plan for rebuilding the intersection of Second Avenue North and North 15th Street while keeping North 15th Street a four-lane street for most of its length was approved unanimously by the Fort Dodge City Council Monday evening.

After almost two months of controversy that led to packed City Council meetings, the final plan was approved with little discussion.

The original proposal released in May called for converting 15th Street between Second and 20th avenues north to three lanes, reducing it from the current four lanes. That provoked intense and widespread opposition.

Under the plan approved Monday, the only four-lane section of North 15th Street that will be reduced to three lanes is one block immediately north of the intersection of Second Avenue North and 15th Street.

The reconstruction of the intersection was part of the plan unveiled in May, but it was never controversial. Even some opponents of converting the road from four lanes to three publicly stated that the intersection job needs to be done.

“That whole intersection is going to be reconstructed and realigned to make it safer,” City Manager David Fierke said.

The council took three specific actions regarding North 15th Street.

First, it accepted a $2 million state grant that will pay most of the cost of redoing the intersection of Second Avenue North and 15th Street.

Next, it approved an amendment to a contract with Snyder & Associates, the engineering firm that has been working on the project. That contract amendment spells out the scope of the work.

Under that amendment the company will prepare the final plans to:

n Convert the street from four lanes to three lanes between First Avenue North and Third Avenue North. Since 15th Street is already three lanes between First Avenue South and Second Avenue North, this impacts just one block north of the intersection.

• Reconstruct the intersection of Second Avenue North and North 15th Street.

• Do concrete patching between Third Avenue North and Seventh Avenue North.

• Improve sidewalk ramps at intersections.

• Install new traffic signals at the intersections with Second, Sixth and Seventh avenues north.

• Update the traffic signals at the intersection with 20th Avenue North.

• Create a fiber optic connection between the traffic signals.

Snyder & Associates, which is based in Ankeny and has an office in Fort Dodge, will be paid $280,900 for that work.

The total cost of the project is now estimated at $3.6 million, with $2 million coming from the state grant and $1.6 million coming from the city’s 1 percent local option sales tax.

The cost estimate for the project as originally proposed was $4.75 million.

The last thing the council did Monday regarding North 15th Street was to schedule an Aug. 11 public hearing on acquiring needed land for the project.

Fierke said construction will begin next year.