Leaders Celebrate Final Federal Funding for FM Diversion

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — The final domino has fallen Sens. John Hoeven and Amy Klobuchar helped secure the final $437 million in federal funds for the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project.

“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 Sen. 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 Sen. 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-29 out of the 500 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 Col. Karl Jansen with the U.S. 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 Dr. Tim Mahoney.

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

Engineers expect this project to be finished and ready to defend floods no later than the spring of 2027.