Corps announces county road reopenings for Interstate 29 grade raise project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, along with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority and the North Dakota Department of Transportation, announce that construction in the Oxbow, Hickson, and Bakke area is nearing completion. County Roads 18 and 81 are now open for traffic in the north, south and east directions. The County Road 18 bridge over I-29 is nearing completion and another notice will notify the public when it is open to traffic in the coming weeks.

“We appreciate the residents’ patience this summer as this vital part of the project was completed,” said Mathew Andersen, resident engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Fargo North Office. “The road raise will assure access to the residents during future flood events.”

The I-29 grade raise project is part of the Fargo, North Dakota / Moorhead, Minnesota, Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. It consists of a grade raise of I-29 for approximately 4 miles to bring the roadway out of the 500-year flood elevation. The project extends from south of Exit 50 (Hickson Interchange) to north of Exit 54 (Davenport/Oxbow Interchange) and includes an up-and-over where I-29 crosses the southern embankment near the Wild Rice River, bridge construction and replacement, a temporary by-pass, as well as work on adjacent County Roads 18 and 81 in the vicinity of Oxbow.

The Corps is working in partnership with the cities of Fargo and Moorhead and the Metro Flood Diversion Authority on the Fargo, North Dakota / Moorhead, Minnesota, Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. This project will provide flood risk reduction for more than 230,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure in the communities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace and Harwood.

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