Sen. Smith tours FM Flood Diversion Project

HORACE, N.D. (KVRR) – U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minnesota) made her way to the east side of North Dakota to tour the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion project. The senator along with Moorhead’s Mayor Shelly Carlson, got an inside look of what is being built south of Horace, ND.

“I know what a huge difference this is going to make for the folks in this community,” said Sen. Smith. “Who as every spring will not have to worry about what flooding may or may not look like in this community.”

A massive facility to help deal with the floodwaters from the Red River. After dealing with the Grand Forks Flood of ’97 and the Fargo flood of ’09, the area is getting some much needed relief and insurances to fight floods in the future. It will also help with flood related costs for residents.

“When this project is completed, there is going to be millions of dollars that are not going to need to go to pay for flood insurance,” said Mayor Carlson. “That really helps our residents in both the Minnesota and North Dakota side. This puts money back into their pockets, where you’re not having to pay out for flood protection.”

According to the Metro Flood Diversion Authority, the project is slated to be done in 2027. This diversion system can withstand a 500-year flood or even more according to the experts on the project.

“This is a multi-billion dollar project. That is coming in on budget and on time,” said Sen. Smith. “It is accomplishing it’s goals and it’s providing resilience to this community. It’s doing it with some really new and innovative structures and ways of approaching it. I think it will be a model for projects all over the country.”

The diversion project can be found off of 124th Ave. S. near Horace.