Submitted Photo Work on Railway Avenue nears completion in preparation for an anticipated Friday reopening.

Construction of Railway Avenue is nearing completion and is scheduled to be open to through traffic starting Friday evening, Nov. 15, according to the Souris River Joint Board. There will be ongoing work in the boulevards and behind the back of the sidewalk, so the board urges caution while traveling through the corridor.

Work completed on flood protection in this corridor since the roadway was first closed consisted of the following items:

– 2,500 feet of concrete floodwall

– 2,300 feet of earthen embankment

– 4,400 feet of roadway improvements

– Nearly 53,000 feet of underground utilities were removed and replaced.

Work on the stormwater pump station is expected to continue through the winter, with the final construction of Phase MI-5 expected next summer, according to a SRJB news release.

When completed and connected to the first four phases of the Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project, the MI-5 phase will help remove about 60% of Minot residents from the proposed Federal Emergency Management Agency floodplain. 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.