Corps begins temporary levee construction on 2nd street in Fargo, N.D.

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will begin constructing temporary emergency levees on 2nd Street in Fargo, N.D., today, April 26.

The plan is to begin on the north side of 2nd Street near 5th Ave. North and work south along the river. The Corps estimates it will take approximately 28,000 cubic yards of dirt to complete this temporary levee to an elevation of 42 feet. The construction should be completed in approximately three days. The Corps is working closely with city of Fargo officials to reduce congestion around the area during construction.

While there are inherent risks associated with all levee systems, emergency levees constructed during a flood fight are not engineered structures and are intended to be temporary.

Under Public Law 84-99, the Corps of Engineers may provide assistance to communities to save human life, prevent immediate human suffering or mitigate public property damage. An imminent threat of unusual flooding must exist and a state must request Corps’ assistance.

The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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