Corps completes county road work for Interstate 29 grade raise project

By Elizabeth StoeckmannOctober 21, 2022

Corps completes county road work for Interstate 29 grade raise project
Corps completes county road work for Interstate 29 grade raise project (Photo Credit: Courtesy) VIEW ORIGINAL

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 the completion of county road construction in the vicinity of Oxbow, Hickson, and Bakke, North Dakota. As of Saturday, Oct. 22, County Roads 18 and 81 are open for traffic in all directions, including access to Interstate 29 ramps. Also new, the County Road 18/81 intersection is now a four-way stop.

“Completing the road raises at the same time as the new bridge over the freeway allowed the work to be completed in one construction season, rather than disrupting traffic at two different times,” said April Erickson, Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District project engineer.

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 diversion project. This project will provide flood risk reduction for more than 235,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure in the communities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace and Harwood.