ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, completed construction of the Tolna Coulee Control Structure May 22.
The Corps accepted the project, near Tolna, N.D., from its contractor and will turn over the project to the North Dakota State Water Commission for the operation and maintenance in the near future. The Corps is finalizing the operation and maintenance manual and the design documentation report, which includes the as-built drawings and any design changes that may have occurred during the construction process.
The project began a little more than one year ago with the planning phase. The 800-foot wide structure is designed to regulate the amount of water that would flow through the coulee. Completion of this project eliminates the threat of catastrophic flooding along the Sheyenne River if Stump Lake were to exceed 1,458 feet above sea level. According to the National Weather Service, the current lake level is 1,453.24 feet.
A contract was awarded to International Falls, Minn., based Wagner Construction, Inc., for $6.5 million in September 2011. Construction began the following month and continued through the winter. Unique construction techniques were employed to meet the goal of project completion by spring of 2012, including the use of heated tents to allow the concrete to cure during the cold weather.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, serves the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood risk reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. It contributes around $181 million to the five-state district economy. The 700 employees work at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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Release no. 12-049