Ames crews permanently reroute Wild Rice River
Ames hit a major milestone in North Dakota in March with the successful rerouting of the Wild Rice River through a gated concrete structure as part of the Fargo-Moorhead Metro Area Flood Risk Management Project. This significant achievement will allow crews to complete the construction of a dam embankment across the existing Wild Rice River channel.
Ames is building three gated structures—the Wild Rice River Structure, the Red River Structure, and the Diversion Inlet—in an effort that will provide permanent flood protection to the Fargo-Moorhead region.
Project on Wild Rice River
Highway 169 Redefine–Elk River enters season 2
In Elk River, Minnesota, Ames crews are beginning the second season of a three-year project to reconstruct a 3.6-mile segment of a popular route to the state’s northern “cabin country.”
Ames is replacing four signalized intersections on Highway 169 with diverging diamond bridge intersections, which will convert the highway to a freeway and improve safety and traffic flow. Three earthwork crews, two pipe crew, and six structure crews are contributing to the project.
In 2022, crews completed about 1.4 miles of roadway, including work on the Highway 10/Highway 169 intersection as well as three-quarters of the north end of the project on northbound Highway 169. Also in season 1:
- Structure crews completed two bridges and made progress on three CIP retaining walls.
- Pipe crews installed 10,000 linear feet of RCP storm sewer and HDPE water main pipe.
- Earthwork crews performed 300,000 cubic yards of earthwork.
To begin the 2023 season, crews are working to complete two traffic bypasses at intersections where bridges will be built this summer, allowing traffic to continue through the corridor with zero impacts. This will allow the bridge abutments to be built concurrently rather than in stages, while the roadway will be built in two halves.
In 2023, work will include 1.5 miles of roadway; 480,000 cubic yards of excavation and embankment; 20,000 linear feet of storm sewer, water main and sanitary sewer; two bridges; three CIP walls; nine MSE walls; and one concrete noise wall.
Three major traffic-switch milestones will happen as well: the first at the beginning of July upon completion of the northbound lanes of the highway, the second in mid-August as the 193rd Avenue bridge is completed, and the final switch on Oct. 31 as work for the 2023 season wraps up and Highway 169 is reopened to four lanes of traffic.