FARGO, N.D., June 18, 2021
/PRNewswire/
-- The Metro Flood Diversion Authority
(MFDA) (www.fmdiversion.gov) announced that it has
selected Red River Valley Alliance following a unanimous vote by
its board of directors. Red River Valley Alliance, a consortium of
private companies, will now partner with the MFDA through a
private-public partnership (P3) project designed to bring reliable,
permanent flood protection to the Fargo-Moorhead metro area and its 230,000
residents by the spring of 2027.
The comprehensive project, representing a financial commitment
of approximately $2.75 billion paid
for through a combination of federal, state, and local funding,
will remove the threat of disastrous flooding with a design to
withstand a 100-year flood event and additional protections in
place to provide resiliency in the event of a 500-year flood.
"We are grateful for the tremendous collaboration within and
between the local, multi-state and federal levels to bring us to
this point," said MFDA Board Chair and Moorhead Mayor Shelly Carlson. "After intensive work on the
upstream embankment components on the Project by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, we are excited to announce that we are ready to
move to this next critical stage. Red River Valley Alliance will be
responsible for designing, building, maintaining, operating and
helping finance the construction of the 30-mile channel, including
19 highway bridges, four railroad bridges, two aqueducts and other
support structures. They will join with our public partner, the
Army Corps of Engineers, which will continue their intensive work
on the control structures, dam and the 20-mile Southern Embankment
upstream from the Fargo-Moorhead
metro area. We are extremely grateful to the Corps of Engineers as
they play a pivotal role in working with us throughout our planning
and execution of this milestone project," Carlson said.
Community Driven
MFDA Executive Director Joel
Paulsen said, "The people of Fargo, Moorhead and the surrounding
communities came together after the devastating flood of 2009 to
find a permanent flood-management solution. The coalition worked
with the MFDA and the U.S. Corps of Engineers who, together,
developed the P3 model with a split-delivery construction plan to
deliver reliable flood protection as quickly as possible. After a
detailed pre-qualification process with industry days in
Fargo and New York and a rigorous proposal review, we
are highly confident in our recommendation for our P3 Partner. We
believe Red River Valley Alliance will be an excellent partner in
this critical undertaking."
Paulsen said that MFDA, its staff and board of directors will
now work with Red River Valley Alliance as well as with the USACE
team already in place to ensure that the entire construction
process and its integration within the local area meets the
evolving community needs over the next several years.
Red River Valley Alliance
The Red River Valley Alliance is a consortium of members that
will be responsible for all the elements required to design, build,
finance, operate and maintain the Diversion Project for 30 years
after it is constructed. The members include three guarantors:
Acciona S.A. (for Acciona Concesiones S.L.), Shikun & Binui Ltd
(for Shikun & Binui Concessions USA and Shikun & Binui-America), and North
American Energy Partners Inc. (for North American Enterprises
Ltd.). The four lead contractors are Red River Constructors,
Acciona Infraestructuras S.A., Shikun & Binui-America Inc., and
North American Enterprises Ltd. The three lead engineers are Red
River Valley Alliance Design JV, Hatch Associates Consultants Inc.,
and COWI North America Inc. The two subcontractors are Amec Foster
Wheeler and Wenck Associates Inc.
For more information regarding Red River Valley Alliance,
contact lead contractor Julio Marcos
at 310-429-1356.
About the P3 Construction Model
The P3 model of construction is increasingly popular for major
infrastructure projects for several reasons: The simultaneous
design and construction by public and private partners can greatly
shorten the construction time for a civil engineering construction
project. For the FM Area Diversion, the P3 model also provides
greater financing flexibility.
Historic Pilot Project for U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers
The project is the first in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers'
history to use a public-private partnership and is the inaugural
pilot project under its Revolutionize USACE Civil Works initiative
to demonstrate the viability of new delivery methods that
significantly reduce the cost and duration of project delivery.
Employment
Paulsen said that the entire FM Area Diversion project is
expected to create thousands of new jobs, including construction,
construction support and other employment related to the influx of
workers and on-site activity over the next six years.
About Metro Flood Diversion Authority
The MFDA is the governing authority managing the Diversion Project. The Project is designed to provide permanent,
reliable flood protection to the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area. The Project
began construction in 2017 with flood protection planned for
the spring of 2027 and final completion in 2028. For more
information about the MFDA, visit FMDiversion.gov.
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SOURCE Metro Flood Diversion Authority