A groundbreaking for the 30-mile channel portion of the F-M Area Diversion Project was held on August 9 near the Diversion Outlet into the Red River, which is located approximately 11 miles north of Fargo, ND.
This is one of the largest components of the $3.2 billion project. The channel portion is the first federal US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) project ever to be implemented using the Public-Private-Partnership (P3) delivery method. There were nearly 250 people in attendance including several government officials, the USACE, the P3 delivery team, Red River Valley Alliance (RRVA), and members of the FM Diversion Authority. HEI is a part of Houston-Moore Group (HMG), a partnership that has been working on this project for more than a decade.
Since the beginning of 2009, HEI has been heavily involved in the hydraulic modeling as well as the civil and structural design of this project in collaboration with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, the RRVA, and the USACE.
The diversion channel will route water around the Fargo-Moorhead metro area during major flood events. The diversion aims to provide permanent flood protection to roughly 235,000 people and protect more than $25 billion in property value, including a third of North Dakota’s K-12 student population and almost 70 school buildings. The project as a whole is expected to be complete by 2027.
Learn More
- Read more about the groundbreaking on Valley News Live and the Forum (newspaper subscription may be required).
- Watch this video that explains the complexities of the F-M Area Diversion Project by HEI’s Greg Thompson.
HEI’s team at the groundbreaking. Pictured left to right: Jun Yang, Adam Ruud, Jeremy McLaughlin, Greg Thompson, Jeff LeDoux, and Gregg Thielman.
North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony.
