EDINBURG — A major project that will help mitigate flooding will be receiving a big boost in funds thanks to a $1.2 billion infrastructure bill passed by Congress last year.
U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-McAllen, secured $3.7 million for Hidalgo County’s North Main Drain expansion project which will provide flooding relief to Edinburg and North McAllen.Floodin
The project will add approximately 3.5 miles to the existing North Main Drain, increasing the capacity of the county’s drainage system by several million cubic yards of detention and linear drainage, according to Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres.
“The existing infrastructure is unable to handle excessive rains as we’ve seen throughout the last few years,” Torres said Tuesday during an event celebrating the investment.
“The improvements that Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 proposes will provide immediate and cost-effective mitigation relief to a significant portion of Hidalgo County within the northern portions of McAllen and Edinburg,” Torres added.
The planned expansion will begin on Canton Road and will reach Russell Road, also known as 17 1/2 Mile Road, in Edinburg.
It has a total estimated price tag of $5 million with the county drainage district investing $500,000 that it saved by designing the plans in-house, according to Raul E. Sesin, general manager of Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1.
Sesin said the drainage district would be on an “assertive schedule” for the design phase and would move forward on construction as they got the approval to do so.
“Since we’re managing everything in-house, we’re going to get everything up and running quickly,” he said.
But this project is also just the start of bigger expansion for the North Main Drain, according to Sesin.
“This is the start of the expansion that’s going to continue north with some other funding that we’re setting aside through Commissioner Torres,” he said. “We anticipate expanding about $15 million’s worth all the way north to Monte Cristo.”
The $3.7 million from the federal government that the county received for this project was part of a greater pool of $11 million for community projects that Gonzalez voted for in March.
“So I was able to choose projects throughout my district that were going to help benefit our community to make sure that we live better, that we afford people a higher quality of life and drainage is at the forefront of this,” Gonzalez said.
He added he hoped to secure funding for the Raymondville Drain project, which is constructing a 63-mile long pipeline from Edinburg to the Laguna Madre to alleviate flooding.
“Right now, there’s a lot of opportunity to do great things and taking care of the drainage in our region, I think, is the most important for us because without that, we don’t have everything else that we need to live well in this area,” Gonzalez said.
