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Heavy rains and utility relocations have slowed progress on two flood mitigation projects in Elgin, but city officials say construction remains on schedule for completion by late December.
The grant-funded County Line Road and Kennedy Street projects are designed to reduce flooding by routing stormwater beneath roadways while widening roads and improving infrastructure. Public Works Director Michael Gonzales said coordinating utility relocations from multiple providers, combined with the city’s own water and sewage infrastructure have been the primary challenges.
“Recent heavy rainfall has also affected construction, as the area’s clay-heavy soils retain significant moisture,” Gonzales said.
About 1,400 linear feet of reinforced concrete storm drainage boxes have been installed along County Line Road, where aging open bar ditches will be replaced with an enclosed drainage system. According to the city, the improvements will help with stormwater collection and roadway safety.
The corridor will also be widened from two lanes to four, with a center median and turn lane.
At Kennedy Street and Central Avenue, crews have completed installation of drainage structures and excavated the future stormwater retention area, though recent rains have continued to slow the pace.
“The contractors are finding in this area that you just kind of move that water out of the way before you can put those boxes in,” Gonzales said. “It takes time and the crews working along to get to that.”
The city has logged about 60 working days of construction with roughly 258 remaining. Gonzales said crews are also in a “discovery phase,” as they uncover older underground infrastructure that predates modern survey equipment.
“A lot of this stuff was put in the ground before survey equipment was common in Elgin,” he said.
Despite the challenges, Gonzales said the city expects to meet the grant’s end-of-year construction deadline, and the city appreciates residents’ patience as work continues.
“We’ve asked our community to make some short-term sacrifices in convenience as we work on this project that will be a long-term benefit for the community,” Gonzales said.
Additional project information and updates can be found at elgintexas. gov.
