Metro Flood Diversion Authority Selects Red River Valley Alliance as P3 Partner

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