It has taken years to get to this point. Efforts began in August 2011 when the Minot City Council voted to ask the State Water Commission to sponsor a flood protection project. The enormous flood of June 2011 had been far beyond what the existing flood levees could handle.

A ceremonial groundbreaking was held March 28 for the first three phases of the flood protection project in Minot. Those segments would extend from the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass to just east of Third Street Northeast.

Many supporters, stakeholders and partners were on hand for the groundbreaking celebration, representing the City of Minot, Souris River Joint Board, Congress, governor’s office, Legislature and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Although the groundbreaking signified the beginning of major work, pieces of the project had already moved forward.

A map shows the Phase 2-Napa Valley section of the flood protection project, which begins at the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass and Seventh Avenue Southwest and runs to 16th Street Southwest at the Minot Water Treatment Plant. Souris Valley Golf Course is shown in the middle of the map, with Wee Links and the Minot Water Treatment Plant to the right.

The Perkett Ditch project began in the summer of 2016 to create storm water solutions and was substantially completed in 2017. The project addressed interior drainage issues. Tree removal to make way for the project construction also started in this past March.

Residents will see construction occurring all along the stretch of the three project phases this year. The work isn’t expected to fully conclude until 2020.

Phase MI-1 Fourth Avenue segment is a six-block stretch of levees and floodwalls and includes a new sanitary lift station and the Broadway pump station. The segment runs from just west of Broadway to the east side of Third Street Northeast.

Phase MI-2 Napa Valley runs from the Highway 83 Bypass to 16th Street Southwest and will include levees, a road closure structure and two storm water pump stations.

Phase MI-3 Forest Road provides protection on the north side of the river between 16th Street Southwest and the end of Third Avenue Southwest, near the intersection of the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and will primarily feature earthen levees.

A map shows the Phase 3-Forest Road section of the flood protection project, which consists primarily of dirt levees on the north side of the river. This segment begins at the east end of the Napa Valley segment, at 16th Street Southwest, and ends at the end of Third Avenue Southwest, near the intersection of the Canadian Pacific Railroad tracks and the Mouse River.

Park Construction will be working on Phase 1. Wagner Construction has charge of Phases 2 and 3.

The construction cost for Phases MI-1, MI-2 and MI-3 is about $99.4 million. The state is paying 65 percent, with the remainder coming primarily from the Minot’s sales tax for flood control.

Construction costs, including engineering and contingencies, on the first three phases are: phase 1, $54 million; phase 2, $33 million; and phase 3, $12 million, for the total of $99 million. Design costs came to $6.5 million on phase 1 and $7.3 million on phases 2 and 3.

In addition, the project has incurred costs of acquisitions, planning and regulatory compliance.

As of April 4, the City of Minot had spent $7.92 million in Community Development Block Grant-National Disaster Resilience funds on acquisitions, relocations and demolitions. It has spent about $21 million from CDBG-Disaster Recovery funds. It also has spent $52 million from state allocations, bringing the total to about $81 million, which includes all properties whether in the first three phases or in other phases.

The Souris River Joint Board hopes to continue with other construction outside of Minot this year, but those actions are contingent upon state funding that the board still was attempting to secure earlier this month.