Grand Island and the surrounding region has experienced severe flooding over many decades. In 2005, the Central Platte Natural Resources District (NRD), City of Grand Island and Hall County, NE undertook a flood risk reduction project to minimize the risk of flooding to Grand Island. The project includes multiple risk reduction actions including dams, a detention cell, and a levee. Also included is an effort to enhance local understanding of flood risks through awareness outreach, promotion flood insurance, and development of a flood alert system. Construction was completed in 2019, totaling 6 million cubic yards of excavation, 1.5 miles of levee, and four dry dams, costing approximately $25 million. The project is estimated to reduce damages from a single major flood event by an amount exceeding the project cost. Historical flooding occurred in March 2019 when a bomb cyclone took direct aim at Nebraska bringing snowfall and rain on frozen snow-covered terrain. Over one billion dollars of damage occurred statewide. Due to the abnormal conditions causing the flood, it is difficult to determine the recurrence interval at Grand Island; however, the elevation of the flooding indicates near 500-year flood levels. The project performed and prevented millions of dollars of damage to Grand Island. This presentation will discuss components of this project that allowed the development of a long-term flood risk reduction effort. It will discuss how the project performed during March 2019 and lessons learned, as well as key actions the NRD and Grand Island will take to continue to promote awareness of flooding risks, understanding of residual risk, and ongoing implementation of the flood alert system. This project is a prime example of how agency collaboration and a long-term vision for flood risk reduction for a community resulted in flood risk reduction benefits during a significant real-world test.