Front walks, city panels and stoops

Sidewalks & Steps in Fargo, ND

Level walks and solid steps on your lot, and straight answers about the City's rules for the public sidewalk.

Free on-site estimates with a base and drainage check
Itemized written quote before any work begins
Air-entrained mixes and planned control joints on every exterior pour

When the City Marks Your Sidewalk

Sidewalks and steps in Fargo are often the first concrete a homeowner has to deal with, sometimes because the City says so. Under North Dakota law, property owners build and maintain the sidewalk next to their lot. The City of Fargo Engineering Department inspects sidewalks and marks panels for replacement when they no longer meet its criteria. If the City has marked panels in front of your house, you have a decision to make: let the City's contractor do it and pay through a special assessment, or hire a contractor yourself.

What gets a panel marked

The City's criteria for replacement are specific:

A crack a quarter inch wide or more.
A trip hazard, where one edge sits more than a quarter inch higher than the next.
Spalling with pits about a quarter inch deep or more.
Settlement or heaving that leaves a slope steeper than a quarter inch per foot, or a panel that holds water.
Missing or badly broken sections.

On Fargo's clay, settling and heaving are common, and tree roots lift panels along older boulevards. The City allows unbroken panels to be raised back into line with sand or mud jacking, but that cost is paid directly by the homeowner, not put on the special assessment.

Doing it privately

Fargo requires anyone installing or repairing sidewalk in the right of way to be licensed with the City as a Sidewalk Contractor and to hold a North Dakota contractor's license. Unlicensed work, including a homeowner doing it, can bring a $500 fine plus removal, with that cost special assessed to the property. If you go private, the City asks you to contact Engineering so your address is taken off the City project. The City's own reconstruction method uses two inches of Class 5 aggregate under the new panels, rebar, dowels into the existing sidewalk, and an inspection before the pour, and private work in the right of way has to meet the same specifications.

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Front walks and steps

Once you step off the public sidewalk, the walk and steps are your own to plan. Steps have a rough life here: melt collects on them, freezes, gets salted and gets shoveled all winter. When we rebuild a set, the risers come out the same height, the landing is deep enough to stand on while the storm door swings open, each tread pitches slightly to shed water, and the surface gets a broom texture. If a railing is planned, the landing is laid out so it can be anchored solidly.

Sidewalk and Step Work

From one broken step to a new walk and stoop, these are the jobs we handle, plus guidance when the City has marked your public sidewalk.

Help with City-marked panels

We go over the City's marks with you and explain the City project, the private route, and the license that right-of-way work requires.

Front and side walks

New walks from the driveway to the door, to the backyard gate or to the garage.

Concrete steps and stoops

Poured steps and landings with even risers, pitch for drainage and a textured finish.

Raising settled panels

Unbroken sunken panels lifted back to level instead of replaced, when the slab is still sound and the work is allowed.

Tear-out and haul-away

Old walks and crumbling steps removed and hauled off before the new pour.

Typical Sidewalk and Step Costs

Item	Published range
New sidewalk, per sq ft	$7 to $17
4 ft wide walk, per linear ft	$28 to $68
Full replacement, per sq ft	$10 to $25+
Old concrete removal, per sq ft	$3 to $8
Precast concrete steps	$500 to $3,000
Mudjacking 40 sq ft of steps	$300 to $700
Mudjacking a 100 sq ft sidewalk	$400 to $900

National ranges from HomeGuide's concrete sidewalk and concrete leveling cost guides. Poured-in-place steps are priced by size and number of risers. City projects charged by special assessment follow the City's own pricing. Your written estimate is the price.

How It Works

1. Look and check the rules

We look at the marked panels or steps and check which parts sit in the City right of way.

2. Saw and remove

Old concrete is sawed at clean lines and removed, and excess fill is dug out.

3. Base, rebar and inspection

Gravel base compacted, rebar and dowels placed, and an inspection scheduled when the City requires one.

4. Pour, finish and backfill

Concrete poured and broom finished, forms pulled, and the edges backfilled with topsoil.

Sidewalks & Steps Questions

Who has to maintain the sidewalk in front of my Fargo house?

The property owner. The City's sidewalk page cites North Dakota law requiring owners to build and maintain sidewalks next to their property in the right of way.

Can I replace my own sidewalk in Fargo?

Not in the right of way unless you are licensed. The City requires a Sidewalk Contractor license with the City and a North Dakota contractor's license, and unlicensed work can be fined $500.

How does the City's special assessment work?

If the City's contractor does the work, the cost goes to the Special Assessment Office. You can pay in full without interest by the deadline on the notice, or it goes on your property taxes over twenty years with interest.

Can a sunken sidewalk be raised instead of replaced?

If the panel is not broken, yes. The City allows sand or mud jacking to realign unbroken panels, but you pay for it directly. HomeGuide lists about $400 to $900 to mudjack a 100 square foot sidewalk.

How do I keep new steps from flaking?

Skip salt the first winter, use sand for traction, shovel promptly (Fargo requires sidewalks to be cleared within 24 hours after snow stops), and keep the steps sealed.

Get a Sidewalks & Steps Estimate

Free estimates for sidewalks, front walks and concrete steps in Fargo and nearby towns.

Call (701) 773-3206 Free Estimate