By Steve White swhite@nebraska.tv
Relief comes to an area of Grand Island prone to street flooding.
The city is named an island for a reason after all and heavy rains often overwhelm streets.
Second Street, which is Highway 30 through town, was made wider four years ago. There's a detention cell just a couple of blocks away, so the plan is to install huge drain pipes to take water from the busy street.
City Project Manager Scott Griepenstroh said, "Storm sewer is 40 or 50 years old and is just not adequately sized to handle the kinds of rain we get in central Nebraska. Even after we completed Second Street improvement project, immediately saw a lot of flooding."
This project could be underway by fall but will mean tearing out some front yards and driveways to lay pipe, which are some of the issues discussed at a Wednesday evening meeting. There will also be detours during construction.
According to Griepenstroh, new storm sewer will be constructed from storm sewer along US Highway 30 at Logan Street, Broadwell Avenue and Madison Street to the detention cell located at Broadwell Avenue and Division Street. Click here to view the project map.
Griepenstroh said it's a federally funded program. Construction is scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2012 or Spring of 2013.
Anyone living in the affected area is invited to contact Scott Griepenstroh at 308-385-5444, extension 260.
