When the metro flood-control operates in extreme floods, up to 29,000 acres could temporarily store water, which could prevent planting or damage crops.
St. Benedict, which has been at its rural Horace site since 1882, finds its growth potential limited by the path of the diversion channel, which the parish decided makes the location unviable over the long term.
Officials gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the 30-mile diversion channel that is an integral part of the $3.2 billion metro flood diversion project.
ASN Constructors, the international consortium of companies that will build the diversion and associated public works, expects to employ 800 to 1,000 during the peak of construction in 2023 and 2024.
Ryan Richard built a new farmstead when the original plan for the Fargo-Moorhead Flood Diversion threatened his original farmstead. But the route of the revised diversion project now runs through his new farmstead, a setback he said will cost him millions of dollars.
Gene and Brenda Sauvageau argued that an expedited eminent domain process was unfair and illegal. They own almost 8 acres needed for the metro flood diversion project.
Later this year construction will be under way for all three control structures and the 30-mile diversion channel to protect the Fargo-Moorhead metro area from extreme flooding.
