MINOT -- Construction of Phase MI-5 is expected to start-up in the upcoming weeks as the winter weather appears to be behind us. Railway Avenue will have utilities removed and relocated in advance of the flood protection features.
Railway Avenue will continue to be closed to through traffic from 4th Street NE to 27th Street NE. Railway Avenue will remain closed for the duration of the 2023 construction season.
Through traffic on Railway Avenue will continue to be detoured south to Burdick Expressway, while local traffic will utilize 6th Avenue NE to access residential neighborhoods north of Railway Avenue.
Starting May 9th, 4th Avenue NE will be closed to through traffic starting at the 7th Street bridge from the west, and Lowe’s Garden Center on the east. North of the Souris River dead loop at 14th Street NE will also be closed at this time. Access to Lowe’s Garden Center will be off 27th Street SE. The closure of 4th Avenue is anticipated to be in place through June 30th .
The work on Railway Avenue and 4th Avenue NE is part of the Phase MI-5 Northeast Tieback Levee Project, a Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project phase. Phase MI-5 includes earthen levees, arterial road changes, a dry stormwater pond, floodwalls, a city greenway feature, and a stormwater pump station.
When completed and connected to the first four phases of the MREFPP, the MI-5 phase helping remove approximately 60 percent of Minot residents from the proposed FEMA floodplain and, most importantly, provide long-term flood protection to the record flood of 2011. All the enhanced flood protection projects currently under construction, and those under design, provide a level of protection equal to the 2011 flood, plus three feet of freeboard.
For more details on the project and the latest information, go to www.mouseriverplan.com or search on Facebook and like the project information page.