Sen. John Hoeven visits F-M Diversion inlet concrete pour

The Tuesday visit was the first time Senator Hoeven has been on site since construction began.

HORACE, N.D. — Progress is being made on part of the Fargo-Moorhead diversion project and North Dakota Senator John Hoeven was in town to see it firsthand.

Construction on the Red River inlet began in spring of 2017.

The $46 million inlet is the first of three structures being built as part of the F-M Area Diversion Project. It will serve as the gateway to the 30-mile long diversion channel designed to create permanent flood protection in the Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead areas.

This summer, construction on the inlet has made notable strides, drawing Sen. Hoeven to the 90-acre site for the first time since work began.

“They told me they were going to pour 500 yards of concrete, which takes 50 truckloads,” said Hoeven. “They said they were going to be doing it all day long. That is a major league amount of concrete in one day.”

Hoeven was unable to make it to the site on July 27th during the first pour, but diversion project leaders made sure he got something to remember the momentous day.

“We put new concrete on this rock here that he can take back to Washington and as a paper weight,” said Fargo mayor Tim Mahoney. “When he is applying for more money for us, he can just always remember that is what we need in this area.”

Hoeven has been a driving force to secure federal funding. The federal government has committed to providing $750 million towards the $2.8 billion project.

In 2020, the project received $100 million from the government, bringing the total federal funding to $198 million thus far.

Hoeven is still fighting to ensure the project continues to receive the necessary funds.

“Next year we are going after 200 [million dollars}, so it is a big year,” Hoeven said. “We are hard at work on it, but this momentum helps us.”

The inlet is set to be completed by 2023 with the entire project scheduled to be finished in 2027.