I can probably get them back in the ground in within a few weeks after the mid-April repair. Do you think I should dig them up now or wait until closer to the date? I don't want to dig too soon but I don't want to run out of time either...

I have dug up many bulbs and repositioned. My guidance is they can sometimes be like an upside question mark where the bulb is not directly under the foliage. I take a big shovel and go several inches out from the foliage to avoid slicing the bulb. I go down the entire blade of the shovel and do the same thing as I continue on around. I end up with a hunk of dirt with roots showing through. If not transplanting immediately, I would suggest a pot or all together in tubs.

Interesting read....wouldn't the OP need to dig deeper/deeper to at least get the roots as well. So when he puts them back in the ground, there is roots and leaves...to green and store back energy?

And or RP last post, just dump them as pots for a home for 2018

Good point. Absolutely he should get as much as the rootball as possible. That's why I said to dig down all the way with a big shovel - in my garden, that is sufficient to capture the root ball as it's not as big as you might think. I can see that in fluffier soils people might plant their bulbs deeper or the rootball might spread out more.

The point of taking out a big chunk of soil is to keep as much of the roots intact and help them not dry out during processing into pot their short term holding places.

I have used cardboard boxes to hold plants for swaps, etc. They work pretty well for about a month and are dirt cheap. Might be useful if you run out of pots for a stop gap.

I guess it's going to down to the OP soil....especially this time of the year. ie, most of my soil is still wet, Between the snow, snow melt and then the rains....

in some area, it's wet and dense. Digging out to get the roots might entail a backhoe ;-)