Although he’s barely a year into his duty as the Metro Flood Diversion Authority’s executive director, Jason Benson has been actively involved in bringing the project to reality since 2009. See what he’s done and why the project matters to him.

The post Faces of the Diversion: Jason Benson appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

The railroad bridge is parallel to Interstate 29 and County Road 81 between Harwood and Argusville, north of Fargo, ND. There are four separate bridges spanning the stormwater diversion channel in this area. 

The bridge measures 405 feet in length. Construction began in the summer of 2023 to construct a temporary track called a shoofly where trains operate until the new bridge is constructed. Work began on the bridge structure in 2024 and was completed by ASN Constructors and Kramer North America in partnership with BNSF, which constructed the track. BNSF will own and maintain the railroad bridge.

“We are excited to celebrate this milestone of opening the first rail bridge, bringing us another step closer to flood protection for the community,” shared Luke Chenery, RRVA CEO. “The partnership with BNSF is crucial to completing this work and maintaining rail traffic so our work didn’t interfere with their business.”

“We appreciate working with RRVA and their efforts to ensure we continue serving our North Dakota customers while also partnering long-term to aid in flood protection for the community,” said Steve Lyne, Division Engineer, BNSF Railway.

For more information about the FM Area Diversion project, visit www.fmdiversion.gov.

The post First Railroad Bridge Opens Across the Stormwater Diversion Channel appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

It’s not just a matter of piling dirt to make a levee. Mark Buringa, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contracting officer’s representative, tells us what’s really happening as contractors construct the southern embankment’s reaches.

The post Faces of the Diversion: Mark Buringa appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

Jeremy Fenske with ASN Constructors manages 100 people as they work together to construct the one-of-a-kind Maple River Aqueduct. Watch what challenges the team faces each day as they push toward completion of the structure, which will route the Maple River over the stormwater diversion channel.

The post Faces of the Diversion: Jeremy Fenske appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

Forget the stigma that may still be tied to women employed in construction and other male-dominated fields, Brandy Leon says. She loves working as a safety professional in construction and says the more women that embrace the field, the easier it will continue to be for other females to follow their dreams to a construction site.

Brandy also joined Katey Levihn, an engineer with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority’s program management consultant, Jacobs, to talk about Women in Construction Week on North Dakota Today. Watch their segment: North Dakota Today – Women in Construction video

The post Faces of the Diversion: Brandy Leon appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

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.  

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.  

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.

The post MFDA Releases Year-End Updates   appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

Jason Benson, of West Fargo, North Dakota, has worked for the Cass County Highway Department since 2000, including as its county engineer since 2011. In that role, he has served as a senior technical advisor for the FM Area Diversion project. Benson also is a brigadier general in the Minnesota Army National Guard, serving as the assistant division commander for Operations and Maneuver, 34^th Infantry Division, in the Middle East. He’s a professional engineer who earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from North Dakota State University, Fargo; a master’s degree in management from the University of Mary, Fargo campus; and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College in Pennsylvania.

Dennis Lambert, of Lettsworth, Louisiana, has worked as a cost/benefit analyst at IEM since 2020. He previously worked as the chief market manager/area manager for COWI North America Inc. from 2013-17. During part of that time, he worked as a technical lead on the Qualification Tier 1 selection for the FM Area Diversion project’s public-private partnership. He’s a professional engineer who earned bachelor’s degrees in environmental engineering and civil engineering and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from Tulane University, New Orleans.

Daniel Sundberg, of Fargo, works as a site lead for Bayer Crop Services, a position he has held since retiring from the U.S. Army as a lieutenant colonel in August 2023 after 20 years of active-duty service. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Saint Norbert College, De Pere, Wisconsin; a master’s degree in policy management from McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.; and a master’s degree in business administration from Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

The MFDA Board will interview the three finalists in a special meeting on October 18, 2024, at the Fargo City Hall Commission Chambers. It will be broadcast live on TV Fargo Channel 56 and the City of Fargo’s YouTube channel and later shared on the Metro Flood Diversion Authority’s YouTube channel.

Michael Redlinger, City of Fargo city administrator, and Robert Wilson, Cass County administrator, have served as co-executive directors for the MFDA since April 2024, when the former executive director resigned. They will continue in the role until the new executive director takes the helm, which is expected to occur by early 2025.

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.

The post MFDA Executive Director Finalists Announced appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

Channel Crossings: ASN Constructors continued work on many of the 19 road and railroad bridges that will cross the stormwater diversion channel. The bypass lanes on I-94 are now fully constructed and will open before winter. Bridge girders were installed at the County Road 22 crossing, and some of the final portions of the combined County Roads 4 and 31 crossing were completed, putting it on track to open to traffic before winter, as well. Additionally, about 700 cubic yards of concrete was poured for the County Road 20 bridge deck this month.

Maple River Aqueduct: Concrete placement continues on this one-of-a-kind structure, where about 9,500 cubic yards of concrete have been placed to date.

Oxbow-Hickson-Bakke Ring Levee: Hendrickson Transportation, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor, completed more than a mile of the inspection trench as well as about 3,000 feet of the 11,500-foot-long-embankment.

Red River Structure: Ames Construction, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers contractor, neared the end of the concrete work on the control structure portion this month, and they began excavating and stockpiling roughly 460,000 cubic yards of fill on the Minnesota side of the river. This material, which is enough to fill the U.S. Capitol Dome more than nine times, will be used to construct the embankment that will cross the Red River after the river is permanently diverted through the structure in 2025.

Stormwater Diversion Channel: Mass excavation took place in Reaches 10, 11,12, and 13 of the channel, which extend from just south of I-94 to south of Horace, North Dakota. Close to another 2 million cubic yards of the necessary 45 million were moved in the past month, bringing channel excavation to about 57% completion.

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.

For current photos of FM Area Diversion project construction, please contact Amy Wieser Willson at amy@neonloon.com or 218-535-5359.

The post FM Area Diversion September Construction Update appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.

As the weather cools in the upper Midwest, many turn their thoughts to hunting or enjoying the last of the nice weather before wintery weather moves in. We asked Jodi Smith, the Metro Flood Diversion Authority’s director of lands and compliance, what opportunities there are and could be on diversion-owned land. Here’s what she said.

If you have other questions on the topic we didn’t cover, please reach out to us at info@fmdiversion.gov.

Can I hunt on FM Area Diversion land?

Not yet. There are dozens of active construction sites along the 30-mile stormwater diversion channel, so it’s simply not safe to allow hunting at this time. Once the work is completed, to include vegetation seeding, some areas will open to hunting. Not all seeding will occur before the targeted operational date of the diversion, so it could be another four years or so until hunting becomes a safe option.

What recreational opportunities will there be on diversion land?

As part of the existing FM Area Diversion’s public-private partnership contract, trails will be built along both sides of the stormwater diversion channel, stretching from near Horace, North Dakota, to near Argusville, North Dakota. Seven access points will be constructed to access the trails.

As of now, the trails will be basic and amenities will be limited to a few picnic tables, signage and a vault toilet. Along the east side of the channel, there will be a gravel surface that can be used for biking, walking or driving ATVs and snowmobiles. A gravel maintenance road running the length of the embankment also will be publicly accessible for activities.

How will the trails be accessible?

Seven identified access points have been planned:

• At the 38^th Street West and County Roads 16 and 17 crossings, along with the diversion outlet, there will be 10 parking spaces, a gated entrance, trail signage and trash cans.
• Crossings at County Road 81 and 52^nd Avenue West are designated as major trailheads and will include 50 parking spaces, trail and interpretive signage, four picnic tables and trash cans.
• The trails also will be accessible at the Maple and Sheyenne River Aqueducts.

Will there be more than grass and gravel for the trails?

As part of the FM Area Diversion project plans, there will be nearly 300 acres of trees planted in areas along the channel. Native seed mixes also have been identified for different areas along the channel. The seed mixes and tree varieties were chosen based on what will best thrive along different areas of the channel.

Is there more than can be done than the ‘basic’ recreational plan?

State, county and city officials have been discussing options to secure funding to further develop the trail areas, and MetroCOG completed a study showing some of the ways the area could be turned into a recreational destination. There’s even discussion of creating a state park in the area.

At this time, plans are still in the envisioning stage and a pathway to funding hasn’t been secured. The MFDA was formed to develop permanent, reliable flood protection, so any recreational activities beyond the basic paths must come from other organizations and groups.

The post Q&A: Hunting and Recreation Opportunities on FM Area Diversion Land appeared first on Metro Flood Diversion Authority.