The Moorhead City Council, in Minessota (USA), has recently approved a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the Fargo-Moorhead flood prevention PPP project.

Fargo and Moorhead are the two original local sponsors of the federal Fargo-Moorhead (FM) Area Diversion Project. 

As we reported in February, the United States Army Corps of Engineers added the FM Area Diversion Project to its 2016 work plan. Congress has assigned US$5 million this year for the project, which has a total investment of US$1.8 billion.

Part of the project will be developed through the public-private partnership (PPP) model. It has been selected by the USACE as a demonstration project that will be implemented using a Split Delivery model. Under this model, the multiple project features will be split into those implemented by the Flood Diversion Board of Authority (FDBA) and those implemented by the USACE.

The majority of the FBDA's features will be delivered through a PPP project, whereas the USACE intends to use traditional design-bid-build (DBB) and design-build (DB) methods.

The project involves the development of a diversion channel and associated infrastructure work package (DCAI WP). It  consists of a 58 km long and 460 m wide diversion channel, 2 aqueducts, 2 river inlets, various local drainage inlets, the channel outfall, 4 railroad bridges, 4 interstate highway bridges, and 10 county road bridges, as well as associated environmental mitigation and recreational features. The goal is to reduce flood risk associated with a long history of frequent flooding on local streams in the area.

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney and Moorhead Mayor Del Rae Williams in a joint statement, said:

“Fargo and Moorhead have a long history of coming together to act as one whenever our community faces an opportunity or a challenge. Our economies and cultures are intertwined, so when it comes to providing safety to our citizens, we stand together as one as well. For 8 years, our two great cities have worked diligently together to develop and secure long-lasting, permanent flood protection. The signing of the PPA with the Corps ensures that the FM Diversion will be built; and that the fear and anxiety from flooding that threatens our citizens and businesses on an annual basis will, once and for all, be eliminated.”