Steady and sometimes heavy rains Saturday through Tuesday in Fargo-Moorhead caused thousands of dollars in damage to the Main Avenue bridge reconstruction project.
Saturday's rainstorm caused $15,000 damage to newly poured concrete on the bridge and delayed two other state-led projects in Fargo, said Joe Peyerl, an engineer with the North Dakota Department of Transportation. Concrete on the bridge was covered but high winds blew the cover off.
Peyerl said construction crews were scheduled to resume work on Monday but now cannot begin until at least Thursday because of rains Monday and Tuesday.
The delay could cost work crews on the state projects $27,000 each day, or $9,000 for each crew each day, Peyerl said. "If you lose four, five, six days, that gets to be a pretty big number to make up," he said.
Peyerl said he may need to bring in additional crews or have his current crews work overtime to make up for the damage and the delays.
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Dave Kellenbenz, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, N.D., said Fargo received 1.25 inches to more than 2 inches of rain from Saturday to Tuesday. Grand Forks averaged 1 inch during that period.
Fargo's Monday high temperature of 61 degrees broke an 1883 record-low maximum temperature for that date. The previous record-low high temperature was 63 degrees. Grand Forks also broke its 1995 low high record of 61 degrees for that date. Monday's high temperature was 60 degrees.
Kellenbenz said he expected Fargo to break its record-low high again on Tuesday. The city's record-low high for July 6 is 65 degrees.
"This is kind of unseasonably low for this time of year," Kellenbenz said.
The temperatures for July's first six days have been 1.4 degrees below average. But Fargo's temperature was 12 degrees below average Monday and 10 degrees below average Sunday.
Kellenbenz said he expects today's high temperature in Fargo to be below the 80-degree average, with temperatures rising to between 70 and 75 degrees.
He said he expects Fargo's weather to reach 80 degrees by Friday with a threat of thunderstorms.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Brittany Lawonn at (701) 241-5529
