I visited with residents and LUPE advocates to discuss their concerns and after assessment and review, I felt this was a project that was greatly needed for this area.
Hidalgo County officials, along with representatives from La Union del Pueblo Entero, or LUPE, celebrated the start of a stormwater drainage project that will help improve the quality of life for residents of rural Edinburg.
The project, which will help reduce storm flooding in San Carlos, was ushered in by Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Ellie Torres during a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday morning.
“Long-standing flooding issues in this subdivision will be addressed to reduce stormwater for the project area,” Torres said in a news release about the project, which is located near the intersection of East Curry Road and South 83rd Street approximately five miles east of Edinburg.
Residents and advocates from LUPE helped make the project come to fruition.
“I visited with residents and LUPE advocates to discuss their concerns and after assessment and review, I felt this was a project that was greatly needed for this area,” she added.
Crews will install a network of pipes with inlets and graded swales meant to divert stormwater runoff away from homes and toward the Tex-Mex/Schunior Drain system, the county said.
Engineers from Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 designed the project, dubbed the “Encore Ranches Stormwater Project,” which is expected to take about four months to complete.
The drainage improvement project is being funded by federal COVID-19 relief dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act — and specifically, from the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program.
It is expected to cost just over $360,000, according to figures obtained by The Monitor.
Encore Ranches is the fifth of 11 drainage improvement projects county officials plan to complete in Precinct 4 alone.
Others include:
>> Bentsen Road Stormwater Project: Located along Bentsen Road half a mile south of State Highway 107.
>> Colonia Tejano Stormwater Project: Located south of SH 107 and north of Tex Mex Road between South 83rd and South 87th Streets.
>> Mile 17 and 83rd Stormwater Project: Located near Humphrey Road.
>> Mile 17 Road Stormwater Project: Located along Mile 17 Road near Terry and Alamo roads.
>> North Main Drain III Phase I: Located one-quarter mile from McColl Road running to Mile 17 1/2 Road just north of Monte Cristo Road.
>> North Main Drain III Phase II: Located one-quarter mile east of Jackson Road heading toward Monte Cristo Road.
>> Rio Grande Care Road Stormwater Project: Located just north of Monte Cristo Road and east of Rio Grande Care Road.
>> Terry Road Stormwater Project: Located along Terry Road from Rogers Road to the North Branch Drain.
>> Tex-Mex Road Stormwater Project: Located along Tex-Mex Road from Tower Road to the Schunior Drain.
In total, the county will invest more than $13.4 million in COVID-19 relief funds on the Precinct 4 drainage improvement projects.
