| North America


said Thomas Dahlgren, President of COWI North America. “It is the first of its kind undertaken by the US Army Corps of Engineers. This initiative will strengthen communities, establish a path forward for future public- private partnership projects, and provide a platform for growth and opportunities to come.” John Chapman, Vice President and Market Director leading the pursuit for COWI North America, added: “The passing of President Biden’s infrastructure bill, which includes US$47 billion to help communities prepare for the increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, is a much-needed acknowledgement of the importance of resilience projects like the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion. The project will allow the consortium to bring global experience in designing and building climate resilient infrastructure to a landmark US project that aims to prevent billions of dollars in losses caused by flooding.”


Control structure In March 2022 the US Army Corps of Engineers


awarded a US$115 million contract to Ames Construction of Minnesota, to construct the Red River control structure portion of project. This is the fifth construction contract to be awarded by the federal government for the scheme. It includes construction of a concrete control structure with three gates that will regulate Red River flows into the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area, located approximately 11km south of Fargo-Moorhead on the Red River of the North. This shovel-ready feature is one of the first and largest contracts to be awarded by the Corps of Engineers using funds received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022. “The Red River structure is the third and largest


gated structure needed for the completion of the Southern Embankment,” said Col. Karl Jansen, St. Paul District commander of the Army Corps. “Awarding this contract is the culmination of a multi-year, highly sophisticated design effort involving the most experienced engineers from across the entire US Army Corps of Engineers. With this contract, we are on-track to do our part in delivering comprehensive flood risk management for the great people of the Fargo- Moorhead region.”


International recognition Earlier in 2022 the diversion project also received


international recognition. Project finance and infrastructure journal, IJ Global, recognised it as the Water Deal of the Year and the Public Sector of the Year in North America. While Proximo Infra, a London-based organisation working in energy and infrastructure financing, also named the FM Area Diversion as its North America Water Deal of the Year. They called the project “a huge multi-sourced P3 [public-private partnership] for a flood resilience asset.” These add to the recognition the project has


already received. Project Finance International named the project the Americas P3 Deal of the Year. Additionally, the US Corps of Engineers and one of its contractors, Ames Construction, received the Dan W. Renfro Partnering Award from the Mississippi Valley Associated General Contractors for their work on the diversion.


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“These achievements were absolutely a team effort. Many people put in a lot of time and effort to assemble a public-private partnership that can provide the Fargo-Moorhead area with flood protection faster and for less expense than traditional construction methods,” said Joel Paulsen, Metro Flood Diversion Authority Executive Director. “It’s gratifying to see this work recognised across the world.” “We are honoured and humbled to be recognised for these awards,” added Esther Madrigal Diez, Red River Valley Alliance Project Manager. “We take great pride in being selected to deliver this historic project. This award represents our dedication to the community, sustainability, and innovation.” ●


For more information visit: www.fmdiversion.gov www.cowi.com


Left: Construction of the Fargo- Moorhead Metro flood risk management diversion inlet (Photo by US Army Corps of Engineers)


Below: The Wild Rice inlet structure under construction at the Fargo-Moorhead diversion project. The Wild Rice, Sheyenne, Maple and Rush rivers in North Dakota and the Buffalo River in Minnesota also cross the project area (Photo by US Army Corps of Engineers)


Above: A team inspects and checks the dimensions of a tainter gate being manufactured for the diversion scheme (Photo from Metro Flood Diversion Authority)


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