ST. PAUL, Minn. (USACE) – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will celebrate the completion of its Drayton Dam Fish Passage Mitigation Project with a dedication ceremony at 1 p.m., Sept. 25, at the site of the dam near Drayton, North Dakota.

This project included replacing the old Drayton Dam, the last impediment to fish passage between the source of the Red River at Wahpeton, North Dakota/Breckenridge, Minnesota, to the St. Andrews Lock and Dam in Lockport, Manitoba, north of Winnipeg, with a structure to accommodate fish passage and improve public safety. The new dam structure includes a sloping set of rapids with a rock passageway. Rocks and boulders were placed in patterns to create pools through which fish can easily pass.

The project, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, cost $7.7 million and served as a mitigation element of the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. It was built by the Corps of Engineers contractor HSG Park Joint Venture, LLC, of Harvey, North Dakota. The bulk of construction took place in 2022-23 and natural grasses and willows were established this year.

The Corps worked in partnership on this project with the Metro Flood Diversion Authority; the cities of Fargo and Drayton, North Dakota; the city of Moorhead, Minnesota; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; the North Dakota Game and Fish Department; and the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

“We are very excited about this project, because it will enhance fish migration on the Red River and benefit the
natural environment and local community,” said Col. Eric Swenson, Corps of Engineers’ St. Paul District
commander.

The original Drayton Dam structure was constructed in 1964 for water supply purposes. It had a concrete weir structure and a crest elevation about 12 feet above the natural channel bottom. The Sept. 25 event is open to the public and will include brief remarks from officials.