Fargo Moorhead Diversion Project gets $437 million

The final domino has fallen Sens. John Hoeven and Amy Klobuchar helped secure the final four hundred and thirty seven million dollars in federal funds for the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project.

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR)- This is a huge impact, I mean this is first in the nation project, P3 major public works partnership that’s really going to be a model for the country,” said North Dakota Senator John Hoeven.

“A new way of doing business right, with the public private partnership, “this is going to be the first “This is huge impact, I mean this is first in the nation project, P3 major public works partnership that’s really going to be a model for the country,” said Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar.

“A new way of doing business right, with the public private partnership, “this is going to be the first of it’s kind in the country, a potential model for other projects in the future,” said Klobuchar

The Red River Valley Alliance is building the $1 billion, 30-mile diversion channel to carry Red River floodwaters around the metro area during severe floods. The federal funds are the last piece to the puzzle.

“It includes the raising of about five miles of I twenty nine out of the five hundred year flood plain, it involves construction of about a twenty mile earth embankment, the purpose of that embankment is to collect and stage flood waters,” said Colonel Karl Jensen United States Army Corps of Engineers.

There will also be steel and concrete gated control structures that will help pass flowing water pass safely.

‘The locals stood up with the sales tax, the legislation stood up and gave us funding, and now the feds have completed their funding. This is fantastic, this is unprecedented,” said Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney

“Well I think in our trade areas we’re going to find a lot of people happy about this,” said Mahoney

There will also be thousand or more potential jobs coming to the community with that public funding.