December 18, 2024

MFDA Releases Year-End Updates

Enough dirt moved this year to fill the Fargodome 13 times, and enough drone survey data collected to make the equivalent of a 153-year music playlist

FARGO, ND (December 18, 2024) – Sixty-eight individual components of the FM Area Diversion were worked on in 2024. That’s just one highlight of the year that saw more visible construction progress than ever before on flood protection infrastructure for the Fargo-Moorhead metro area.

The Metro Flood Diversion Authority and some of its key partners looked back on what was accomplished this year in a new video, https://youtu.be/14HpoOMyNqg.

“It’s been an honor and privilege to lead the MFDA Board again this year,” said 2024 MFDA Board Chairwoman Mayor Shelly Carlson, who also chaired the Board in 2021. “It’s absolutely incredible to see all the progress that’s been made, and it’s exciting to witness history in the making as we move closer each day to permanent, rather than temporary, flood-control measures.”

The public-private partnership developer on the project, the Red River Valley Alliance, saw its design and construction arm, ASN Constructors, complete significant construction. The group excavated roughly 28 million cubic yards of material, which would be enough to fill the Fargodome 13 times.

Mfda Cr4 31 3 (2) — ASN Constructors opened the first of 19 crossings on the stormwater diversion channel to traffic this fall. This image shows construction taking place in September 2024. An excavated portion of the channel can be seen running under the crossing.

ASN also drove 24 miles of piling and placed more than 23,000 cubic yards of concrete to support structures along the 30-mile stormwater diversion channel. Completing all that work involved logging more than 316,000 machinery hours and collecting more than 80 terabytes of drone survey data. For context, that would be equivalent to making a music playlist that’s more than 153 years long.

Another key partner in building permanent, reliable flood protection is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers St. Paul District. Their contractors placed roughly 42,000 cubic yards of concrete at the Red River Structure this year. While RRS, the largest of the three structures, is at 70% completion, the amount of concrete used already exceeds that of the other two structures – the Wild Rice River Structure and Diversion Inlet Structure – combined. They also drove 16 miles of piling to anchor the structure this year, with another five miles needing to be driven next year. Later next summer, the Red River will be rerouted to flow through the structure, which is a highly anticipated milestone for the project.

Corps contractors also worked on reaches of the southern embankment and the Oxbow-Hickson-Bakke Levee. About 850,000 cubic yards were excavated on these earthen embankments in 2024.

Mfda Dd3 — Among the FM Area Diversion project components completed in 2024 is the Drayton Dam project, where the last low-head dam on the Red River of the North was replaced with rock rapids to enhance fish passage.

Additionally, a Corps contractor placed 800 boulders to form a rock rapids in place of the outdated Drayton Dam. This allows for uninterrupted fish passage along the entire length of the Red River of the North within the United States.

The Cities of Fargo and Moorhead as well as Cass County and Clay County have been important partners in ensuring future flood protection, as well. Much of the city work has been completed, but this year still saw construction on six stormwater lift stations.

“It’s been great watching the progress made this year by everyone from heavy equipment operators to engineers,” said Cass County Commissioner Tony Grindberg, MFDA Board 2024 vice-chairman. “I’m proud to have taken the lead on crafting legislation to fund the project as a state senator in 2013. Now, just over a decade later, things have come full circle for me. I’m looking forward to leading the MFDA Board in 2025, when we’ll be focused on pushing some components to the finish line and preparing for operations and maintenance on completed components.”  

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. More information is available at www.FMDiversion.gov.