FARGO, N.D. (AP) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract for the first phase of a $2.1 billion Red River diversion project around Fargo and Moorhead, Minnesota.
Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota say the $46 million deal with Burnsville, Minnesota-based Ames Construction will include construction of an inlet southwest of Fargo. It’s a concrete structure with three gates to regulate flows into the diversion channel.
Although it’s not clear when construction on the inlet will begin, the Corps says a ground-breaking ceremony will be scheduled for this spring.
Some upstream residents have asked a federal judge to prohibit work on the project until sponsors obtain permits from Minnesota for construction of a dam that would inundate land south of Fargo-Moorhead during times of serious flooding.
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