The Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch Every time I head toward downtown I see the gas utility work being done along 1st Avenue (north) and ever time I see that I wonder when they are going to start the big dig on 1st Avenue. The main reason I wonder is because I cross or travel on 1st Avenue almost every time I leave the neighborhood. I have made use of the wonderful new Elm Street (east) to get to the grocery or hardware store (it turns out I live very close to them) but sometimes the places I want to go are most efficiently reached by crossing or traveling on 1st Avenue.