FARGO - Removal of the temporary Second Street levee downtown began Friday, but the First Avenue North Bridge won't reopen for at least another week, a Moorhead engineer said.
The bridge and portions of Second Street north of First Avenue and south of Main Avenue have been closed since April 4 because of flooding.
Water is still touching the Second Street levee, and crews will leave a small strip of clay in place as they remove the levee just in case the Red River comes back up 1 or 2 feet, said Dave Johnson, Fargo's deputy city engineer.
It took crews working around the clock 3½ days to install the levee, so Johnson estimated it will take five or six days to remove it "if the water cooperates."
On the Moorhead side, the city hopes to reopen First Avenue and the bridge by May 6, Assistant City Engineer Tom Trowbridge said.
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Water is being pumped out of the flooded First Avenue underpass, and crews will have to clean it up afterward, Trowbridge said. The city also plans to make concrete repairs adjacent to the First Avenue floodwall before the road reopens, he said.
"Depending on how quickly we can get that patched, we may even want to wait until Monday the 9th" before reopening the bridge and road, he said.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Mike Nowatzki at (701) 241-5528
