This is the first of a two-part series on flooding in the Red River Valley.
Spring flooding in the Red River Valley (RRV), which borders North Dakota and Minnesota, is not uncommon. Flooding occurs to a severe level about every 10 years where homes and infrastructure are threatened. This year, flood waters from the Red River, which run from south to north, damaged more than 100 homes in the city of Fargo, N.D., on the west side of the river, and many more in its sister city of Moorhead, on the east side of the river. The two communities, along with West Fargo, comprise a population of about 175,000.
Many other North Dakota communities, such as Jamestown, Valley City and Lisbon, experienced similar flooding from other rivers, such as the Sheyenne River and the James River.
Millions of Sandbags, Miles of Levees
In the Fargo/Moorhead communities the Red River crested at 40.8 ft. (12.44 m) on March 27, more than 22 ft. (6.7 m) above flood stage, causing thousands of volunteers from neighboring communities, about 2,100 Army National Guard personnel and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to place millions of sandbags and several miles of earthen levees to prevent extensive damage.
HESCO Bastion Concertainers were brought in for the first time in the history of Red River Valley flooding to help fight the flood. HESCO Bastion Concertainers are freestanding mesh and textile structures that are filled with sand and are placed on top of the dikes to extend the dike height.
It also was the first time the North Dakota Department of Transportation closed Interstate 94 because of flooding; it was closed at the communities of Steel and Valley City. Another 42 state highways were closed due to flooding and winter storms, which occurred at the same time.
“Last year at this time 19 news releases had been sent out advising of weather related issues and road closures,” said Billie Jo Lorius of the North Dakota Department of Transportation Communications Department. “This year over 300 news releases were sent out.”
In Fargo alone, the state’s largest city, the Corps placed 21 mi. (33.9 km) of primary earthen levees, 4.6 mi. (7.4 km) of secondary earthen levees, 10.5 mi. (16.9 km) of sandbag levees, 5.3 mi. (8.5 km) of primary HESCO barriers and 0.45 mi. (0.73 km) of secondary HESCO barriers, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.
The HESCO barriers had to be tested to ensure that they could be removed efficiently. Northern Improvement Co. of Fargo, N.D., assisted with this testing.
To aid in the construction of these emergency levees in the Fargo area, Industrial Builders Inc., of Fargo, was awarded a $265,000 contract. In the Fargo area, 240,000 cu. yd. (183,493 cu m) of clay was used to create emergency levees, and another 80,000 cu. yd. (61,164 cu m) was used in Moorhead.
In Fargo, 3.5 million cu. yd. (2.7 million cu m) of sand was used to fill sandbags and HESCO baskets, along with another 2.5 million cu. yd. (1.9 million cu m) in Moorhead. Many trackhoes, skid steers and dump trucks were needed to place the levees and the sandbags and to remove them.
A Cougar sandbag removal machine also assisted with removal of the sandbags, according to Mike DeRusha, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Throughout the Red River basin, which extends from the southeast edge of North Dakota north to Canada, the Corps also provided 11 million sandbags, 110 pumps, more than 4,000 rolls of polyethylene, each roll 100 ft. (30.5 m) long and 20 ft. (6 m) wide, and created about 30 mi. (48.2 km) of temporary emergency levees and nearly 9 mi. (14.5 km) of HESCO temporary structures, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District.
Additional flooding occurred about 100 mi. (161 km) west of the RRV when water from the overflowing Sheyenne River threatened the cities of Lisbon and Valley City, N.D., and the James River threatened the city of Jamestown, N.D. Water was released from dams that flow into these two rivers to balance water flow so the emergency spillways were not overtopped. The release of water attributed to flooding in the two communities, making it necessary to create emergency levees.
Putting It All Back
When floodwater receded to a safe, nonthreatening level a few weeks later, cleanup to remove dikes and sandbags began. Cleanup in Fargo began on April 22 with two crews working on the south side of the city and one crew working on the north side. Dike removal was expected to take about three weeks.
“We are removing clay levees and HESCO levees 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For sandbag removal, however, we are only working during daylight hours, seven days a week,” said Shannon Bauer, deputy chief of public affairs with the St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Davidson Construction and Ready Mix Inc., of New Folden, Minn., was awarded a $3.26 million contract to remove levees. Specialized Contracting Inc., of Fargo was awarded a $1.8 million contract to remove HESCO baskets. Another $1 million contract was awarded to Spruce Valley Corp. of Middle River, Minn., to remove sandbags.
Two other contracts were awarded for cleanup in Moorhead. A $935,000 contract for clay levee removal was awarded to Gordon Construction of Mahnomen Inc. of Mahnomen, Minn., and a $1.58 million contract for sandbag removal was awarded to Clay Products Inc., of East Grand Forks, Minn.
Clay from the dikes is being returned to the borrow pits from where it was taken. The sandbags are being taken to holding areas. Sandbags in the Fargo area are being stored at the Cass County Maintenance yard until they can be fed into a screening machine similar to the Wildcat Trommel Screen, Model 626. Sandbags in the Moorhead area are being stored in their maintenance area only until they can be fed into the “Wildcat.” The sand from the HESCO baskets is being stored at the Cass County Maintenance yard.
Sand from the sandbags will be reused by both cities for various projects. The clay on the other hand, is readily available in the area; under about 2 ft. (0.6 m) of top soil it’s all clay, and so it may not be reused.
“We should be done with cleanup of the Fargo/Moorhead area in a few more weeks; however, we still have several cities and counties to award contracts to,” Bauer said. “Additionally, water is still receding in some of these cities, such as Lisbon.”
FEMA has given St. Paul District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers a budget of $20 million for North Dakota and $10 million for Minnesota.
In Minnesota, six of the seven Stafford Act Counties in Minnesota have requested assistance with the removal of temporary flood protection measures.
“We are currently in the process of awarding contracts for Clay, Marshall, Norman and Wilkin counties, as well as contracts that will combine Polk and Kittson counties.”
Each of these counties lies along the Red River from south to north, respectively.
In North Dakota, Argusville, Briarwood, Fargo, Fort Ransom, Grafton, Harwood, Lidgerwood, Lisbon and Kindred, as well as Cass, Grand Forks and Walsh counties, have requested assistance with the removal of temporary flood protection measures. The cities of Grand Forks and Valley City will remove their own flood protection measures but have requested technical assistance from the Corps of Engineers.
When Roads Become Rivers
Many rural roads also were damaged or washed out due to overland flooding or ice jams. Water in most areas has receded to the point where it is no longer flowing over roads, but has not receded to the point where repairs can be made.
“Just this morning water was still flowing over roads in the central part of North Dakota, near Bismarck and Minot,” said Billie Jo Lorius of the North Dakota DOT. After the first crest, Highway 200 had some washout by the abutment of a bridge due to ice jamming and wash out underneath, and had a cost estimate of $300,000. Then another crest occurred and more damage was sustained and additional cleanup was needed so now a new tally is needed, making it difficult to create a statewide cost estimate.
According to Bob Walton of the Fargo Department of Transportation District, water had been off the roads for about one week by mid-May but there is still high water in most areas.
“We have three areas that we would consider to have significant damage. The first is along Interstate 29 in Richland County in the southeast corner of the state. A corrugated metal culvert washed out and undermined the shoulder of the Interstate. Department of Transportation maintenance forces filled in the area but final repairs to the culvert are still needed. The culvert ran parallel to the Interstate and under an overpass.
“We think we can start repairs as quick as we can get bid proposals out,” Walton said. A cost estimate to replace the culvert is about $80,000.
Repairing Highway 46
The second area of significant damage in the Fargo DOT District is on North Dakota Highway 46, west of Kindred, also in the lower southeast corner of the state. The highway washed out and was still closed to traffic as of mid-May. The DOT took quotes to make repairs and hoped to have the culvert repaired by Memorial Day.
“It has been washed out for some time and has been closed since April 19,” Walton said. “Water is just now receding so we can see the damaged culvert.”
Water was over the highway for four-tenths of a mile, causing damage all along that stretch adjacent to where the road washed out.
“We are estimating about $65,000 in repairs just for the washout,” Walton said. “There is additional damage where water flowed over the road surface and we have to see what we can do to reestablish a smooth roadway surface.”
Where there were cracks in the road surface, water etched them out, so in some places the cracks are now 8 in. (20 cm) wide and 4 in. (10 cm) deep.
“As soon as we can get asphalt, we will patch the cracks and hopefully an overlay on top of that will create a smooth surface; but, we have to work this out with government officials to see if they will fund that.”
Walton explained that Emergency Relief is available through the Federal Highway program, but damages have to be greater than $5,000 to be funded. FEMA funding is another possibility; for eligibility repairs need to be more than $1,000. CEG
