November 22, 2024
FM Area Diversion November Construction Update
FARGO, ND (November 22, 2024) – Parts for the last of eight huge radial-arm gates for the FM Area Diversion’s three control structures have begun arriving in Fargo. Once all the portions are assembled, the combined weight of the gates, 690.5 tons, would weigh more than 11 of the “World’s Largest Buffalo” statues in Jamestown, North Dakota. This and additional construction highlights are captured in this month’s drone construction update and detailed below.
Transcript: MFDA Construction Flyover – November 2024
Click to expand transcript
Tom Folks (Senior Construction Manager): [00:00:00] Some FM area diversion construction sites are shutting down for winter, but the project still had some notable progress. I’m Tom Folks, senior construction manager for the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, with this month’s construction update.
[00:00:28] We start the overview at the Red River Structure, the largest of the three control structures being built, where the second 50 by 52.5-foot radial arm gate is now in place. This month, deliveries of the third and final gate began. Ames Construction, the US Army Corps of Engineers contractor at the site, has begun excavating the ditch near the westerly connection to the Red River while also forming and placing concrete on the flood walls east and west of the structure. All that work brought the Red River Structure to about 70% completion.
[00:01:34] About 5 miles west, just south of Horace, North Dakota, HSG Park Joint Venture 2 is wrapping up its work on the SE 1B project for the season. They are constructing a short stretch of the southern embankment which will stretch from the Diversion Inlet Structure to the SE 2A embankment reach. This area is expected to be busy next year when multiple contractors will coordinate to construct various features of the southern embankment and the stormwater diversion channel. This is where the work of the federal and P3 programs of the FM area diversion project will meet.
[00:02:35] Just a couple of miles north and west in reach 13 of the stormwater diversion channel, ASN Constructors has continued with a lot of excavation. They moved more than 1 million cubic yards of material this month, bringing the total close to 29 of the 45 million cubic yards that needs to be moved. As winter sets in, levee embankment work will taper off, but crews will continue excavating the main channel focusing on reaches 10 through 13.
[00:03:14] Nearby at the County Road 6 crossing, ASN Constructors completed driving piles for the new bridge abutments and piers. Weather permitting, pile installation and substructure concrete work at select channel crossings is anticipated to continue throughout the winter.
[00:03:39] As we move north and west of the FM Metro to the Maple River Aqueduct, we can see piling and concrete work continuing as well. With the north flume wall substantially complete, crews have shifted focus to the structure’s south flume wall. More than 9 miles of H-pile will be installed to support and anchor various components of the Maple River Aqueduct flume and conduit structure.
[00:04:15] Our last stop this month brings us north of the metro area to the I-29 crossing where ASN Constructors installed girders at the new northbound bridge. At both the I-29 and I-94 crossings, four lanes of traffic will be maintained on the completed bypasses through the winter, and work will resume in the spring. Follow along with the continued process during the winter months by following us on social media and subscribing to our monthly newsletter, the Diversion Current.
Crossings: ASN Constructors, the design and construction arm for the Red River Valley Alliance, began driving h-piles for the abutments and piers on the County Road 6 crossing. Additionally, the project’s interstate crossings, which are west of the metro area on I-94 and north of the metro on I-29, now have all four bypass lanes open to traffic. Work will resume on the interstate crossings in the spring but, if weather permits, construction will continue through the winter on some of the other crossings, with a focus on railroad crossings.
Maple River Aqueduct: ASN Constructors drove some of the more than 9 miles of h-pile that will be needed to support this structure, and they continued placing concrete.
Red River Structure: Ames Construction, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor building the FM Area Diversion’s three control structures, installed the second 50-by-52.5-foot gate and began accepting deliveries of portions of the third and final gate for the structure. Additionally, they began excavating a borrow ditch, formed and placed concrete on the structure’s east and west floodwalls, drove piling, and placed stabilization slabs. The structure is now about 70% complete.
Southern Embankment: HSG Park Joint Venture 2, a Corps of Engineers contractor, began to wrap up work on reach SE-1B of the 22-mile earthen levee. Work on all active reaches will be paused during the winter months as well as work on the Oxbow-Hickson-Bakke ring levee.
Stormwater Diversion Channel: ASN Constructors excavated more than a million cubic yards of material this month, bringing them to about 64% completion for moving the necessary 45 million cubic yards.
For the latest road closures and more construction information, go to FMDiversion.gov.
About the Metro Flood Diversion Authority
The MFDA is a permanent North Dakota political subdivision that is cooperatively implementing the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion comprehensive project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The MFDA works in partnership with the Red River Valley Alliance in a public-private partnership as well as the City of Fargo, City of Moorhead, Cass County, Clay County and the Cass County Joint Water Resource District.
