Photo By Elizabeth Stoeckmann | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, reroutes the Wild Rice River...... read more read more
Corps officials recently diverted the Wild Rice River through a gated concrete structure, a project first, near Horace, North Dakota, March 31.
“It’s a pretty special day,” said Duane Perkins, technical lead engineer for the project. “It’s a huge milestone for the project being able to witness the river get diverted through the structure, something that we have all worked on for the last 15 years. Personally, for me, from Breckenridge, I’ve seen the flooding happen there, so providing flood protection to Fargo/Moorhead is special.”
Perkins explained the river has been in its original channel for thousands of years but the new design diverts the river through the structure so there is complete control of the river. This reroute will allow for construction of a dam embankment across the existing Wild Rice River channel so the river can flow its natural course through the structure.
The Wild Rice River Structure is a concrete control structure with two 40-foot wide Tainter gates. Upon completion of the entire diversion project, the Wild Rice and Red River structures will regulate flows through the metropolitan area during large flood events.
The Red River Structure is also under construction and the permanent reroute of the Red River through that structure is anticipated in the next two to three years. The structures will not be used to control flooding until the entire diversion project is complete and approved for operation.
The Wild Rice River Structure is a part of the congressionally authorized Fargo-Moorhead diversion project which includes 30-milelong diversion channel in North Dakota with upstream staging. The plan includes a 21-mile-long southern embankment, multiple highway and railroad bridges, three gated control structures and two aqueduct structures.
The Corps is working in partnership with the cities of Fargo and Moorhead and the Metro Flood Diversion Authority to build this project, which will provide flood risk management for nearly 260,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure in the communities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace and Harwood.
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 06.13.2023 15:26 |
| Story ID: | 447071 |
| Location: | HORACE, NORTH DAKOTA, US |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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