PRELIMINARY/DESIGN PHASE
Update: January 2024
Project Overview:
The proposed MI-7 Phase of the MREFPP begins just north of the Roosevelt Park Pool and extends along the right (south) riverbank through Roosevelt Park and Zoo terminating at Burdick Expressway. The project will feature a levee section north of the pool and extending to the existing pedestrian bridge where it transitions to a floodwall. In order to accommodate the proposed improvements, several features within Roosevelt Park and Zoo will need to be modified including the Magic City Express, parking, playgrounds, restrooms, and zoo exhibits. The most notable change will be the relocation of a portion of the zoo from north of the river to reside within Roosevelt Park. The project is currently wrapping up design and construction is expected to extend over 4 years. In order to complete the project efficiently, the overall project is being broken up into several phases.
Although the construction of the levees and floodwalls are not scheduled to begin until late spring, some activities have already begun. If you have visited the park in recent days, a preconsoildation pile has been placed near the pickleball court and restrooms. At this location a sanitary sewer will pass under the proposed levee. The purpose of this pile is to pre-load the soils with a weight equal to the proposed levee so that any potential compression of the soil will occur prior to construction. This is needed to ensure that the sewer will not be damaged by the ground settling after the levee is constructed.
The next phase of the proposed project is tree removal from within Roosevelt Park, not within Roosevelt Zoo, and is expected to start in February 2024. In order to accommodate the proposed flood control features, park modifications and zoo relocation, many of the existing trees will need to be removed. This work will take place over the winter months and be completed by the end of April. It is necessary to remove the trees in the winter months to avoid any impact on endangered migratory species.
As the project moves into full construction this summer, access to the park will be impacted, however, the intention is to keep portions of the Roosevelt Park open throughout construction. The pool will remain open for the duration of the construction project as will the pickleball courts. Access to these two amenities will be from Central Avenue with traffic being coordinated with Phase MI-6 of the MREFPP. Portions of the pool parking lot and the parking lot south of the pickleball courts will remain open to the public. The zoo will also remain open to the public over the duration of the project; however, portions will need to be closed at certain times as construction progresses. In the 2024 summer, there will be no proposed impacts to Roosevelt Zoo except for one zoo specific project being completed by the RPZ.
In order to keep projects on schedule there are several milestones working concurrently and in specific order. The proposed levee section extending from north of Roosevelt pool to the existing pedestrian bridge and the floodwall section from the pedestrian bridge to the south side of Roosevelt Park are expected to be completed in 2024. In addition to the flood control features, the Magic City Express maintenance building and the pickleball restrooms will be removed and reconstructed. The existing playgrounds and railroad will be removed, and several municipal utilities will be relocated. As the project moves into the fall, the first impact to the zoo will occur with the placement of a preconsolidation pile near Burdick Expressway.
In 2025, the floodwall will be extended through the Zoo closing off access to the North American exhibit located north of the river. Within Roosevelt Park, roadways will be reconstructed along with the playgrounds, picnic shelters, and the Magic City Express Railroad. Utilities will be placed within Roosevelt Park to accommodate the zoo relocation and some new zoo exhibits are expected to begin construction.
In 2026, the construction of the flood control features will be completed, and restoration activities will be underway. In the same year construction will continue on the zoo exhibits being relocated to the new area within Roosevelt Park, they include otters, birds of prey, goats and sheep, bison, wolves, and North American cats. It is anticipated that all work within the zoo will be completed in 2027.
Project engineers held a public information meeting May 4, 2022 to discuss preliminary design concepts throughout the Roosevelt Park and Zoo.
Phase MI-7 Roosevelt Park and Zoo
urban flood control
The design team continues to work towards 90% plan completion and specifications with a March 1, 2023, date for 90% submittal to the Souris River Joint Board. The Design Water Surface has been revised based on the proposed alignments, the levee profiles have been adjusted accordingly.
60% of comments received from United States Army Corp Engineers, IEPR, City of Minot, and the SRJB have been addressed.
There is currently a lot of coordination with multiple stakeholders on impacts, utilities and alternate solutions. The team is discussing with Minot Parks impacts to Roosevelt Park and the surrounding area, considering traffic circulation and tree preservation. The Roosevelt Park Zoo Director, Jeff Bullock, on the proposed relocation of the North American Exhibit from the north side of the Mouse River into Roosevelt Park and Master planning has been completed to provide a potential lay out. We continue working on individual exhibits, structures, and other miscellaneous zoo features. Another larger impacted landmark staple of Roosevelt Park is Magic City Express, a miniature locomotive that travels throughout the park providing a unique view of the whole space. The alternate design of Magic City Express is at 90% design completion with the proposed route being maintained on the dry side of the levee and circling the newly relocated portion of RPZ.
The MI-7 Design team continues coordinating with the City of Minot and several franchise utilities to walk through plans for maintaining service during construction, reroute franchise utilities, and design of municipal utilities through the levee/floodwall system. The team is working on a variety of required permitting with EA, construction permit, and Sovereign Lands permits for both MI-6-Downtown and MI-7-Roosevelt Park and Zoo.
Our whole team continues coordination with the team working on MI-6-Downtown project understanding portions of these two phases will likely be bid as a single project. Utilities, drainage, levee/floodwall profiles, and alignments have all been coordinated. The team is working through the development of several construction phase options which would fit within a proposed Phase 1 construction budget and would limit the impacts to operation of Roosevelt Park, RPZoo, and the pool.
