The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a $46m contract to Ames Construction, Inc., to complete the diversion inlet control structure portion of the Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota, Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project.
The contract for the inlet control structure is the first construction deal to be awarded by the federal government for the Fargo-Moorhead Project, USACE said.
“This is a very important milestone for the project ,” said Col. Sam Calkins, USACE St. Paul District commander . “It marks the start of federal construction and the first major step towards permanent flood risk management for the Fargo-Moorhead area.”
This congressionally authorized project is a 30-mile long diversion channel in North Dakota with upstream staging.
The plan includes a 12-mile long southern embankment, 19 highway bridges, four railroad bridges, three gated control structures and two aqueduct structures.
The Corps is working in partnership on this project with the cities of Fargo and Moorhead and the Metro Diversion Authority.
This project provides flood risk reduction for more than 230,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure in the communities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace and Harwood.
A ground breaking ceremony is being planned for spring of 2017.