SAN ANTONIO -- Major flooding in the downtown lower levels of IH-35 may soon be a thing of the past.
Tuesday, the city of San Antonio kicked off a new drainage and flood control project to keep the highway from closing during torrential downpours in the McCullough Avenue area.
“These projects take a lot of thought, they take a lot of engineering. They’re also trying to address issues of a growing city,” said Councilman Roberto Treviño.
City officials celebrated the start of the construction with a groundbreaking near the Pearl.
The new drainage ditch will reduce flooding, and includes a storm water filtration system that will carry cleaner water into the San Antonio River.
“This drainage system is going to be a underground drainage system with many inlet and pipe - go and capture a good amount of that runoff coming from north and take underground, and take San Antonio River,” explained City of San Antonio Transportation and Capital Improvements Assistant Director Razi Hosseini.
Other improvements include: street widening, new sidewalks, new water main and sewer, retaining walls, curb inlets and new traffic lights at St. Mary’s and Elmira.
“This kind of projects are timely, are needed, and it’s a responsible and responsive approach to the neighborhoods just north of downtown,” said Treviño.
Voters approved the project in the city’s 2012-16 bond program with a prize tag of $12.5 million.
Construction is expected to last through late summer next year.