Construction continues on Highway 182 drainage project
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Construction continues on the Highway 182 Cross Drainage Project in Columbus.
For years, there have been flooding issues in different wards in the city.
To help put a stop to the overflow of water, the city and county joined forces on the drainage project.
“We’re cleaning the ditch out, sloping it, so the water can flow freely from one point to the other with hopes that it will cross the Highway and go away from these property owners,” said Jeff Smith, Lowndes County District Four Supervisor.
Homes and business have been affected in the past.
The Highway 182 Cross-Drainage Project covers parts of Lowndes County District 4 and Columbus Wards 2 and 3.
The Lowndes County Board of Supervisors has been working with the City of Columbus to reduce flooding in the town for the past two years.
“So many of our residents in Ward Two, Ward Three, and District Four have been flooded. We want what’s best for the residents,” said Roderick Smith, Ward Two Columbus City Councilman.
One of the first steps to clean the ditch was removing standing vegetation.
After overcoming some setbacks, Burns Dirt was finally able to break ground last week.
The company is now laying concrete boulders in a ditch near 4 Seasons Farm and Garden on Highway 182.
That’s a relief to store owner Daniel Brown.
“It would actually flood on the road over here on Gaylane Drive. So, when it (would) flood over there, it would come up to the edge of our building because the water couldn’t go across the road fast enough. So, it was coming from here and it was coming from Marvin’s, so we were catching pretty much everything,” said Brown.
Brown said the floodwaters would also wash away some of the store’s foundation under the concrete.
He said he is grateful that city and county leaders are working together to fix the issue.
The project is funded by the city, county, and Tombigbee River Valley Water Management District.
If cleaning out the drain doesn’t solve the problem, leaders plan to reach out to MDOT for the next phase of the project.
“Our next claim would be to reach out to Highway Department for the State of Mississippi and ask them to participate in a second phase, which would be to remove the box cover that cross Highway 82 East,” said Jeff Smith.
The original box drain was installed several decades ago.
Leaders said the water should flow into the Luxapalila Creek.
Depending on weather, the project is expected to be complete within the next two weeks.
