Flood Issues in Brickyard Bayou
When a steady rainfall hits the Coast, many residents in Gulfport experience heavy flooding on their property. Now, help could be on the way to find a solution to these drainage issues.
Trash, debris, and overgrown brush fill up parts of Brickyard Bayou in Gulfport, making it hard for flood waters to drain properly. Gulfport resident Willie Spann said, “During heavy rains, I just move out until the rain is over with. I’m afraid to stay in the house during heavy rains because I don’t want to get locked in.”
Temporarily moving out every time it rains becomes harder and harder for the 69-year-old resident. But in just over a year, Willie Spann may not have to move out any longer. From 8th to 30th Street, a huge drainage improvement project is in the works. President of Brown, Mitchell and Alexander Incorporated Dax Alexander said, “East of Highway 49, we need to do a clearing and snagging type project to remove the underbrush, dead trees and, in some cases, trash from the bayou and then upstream, or west of Highway 49, improvements are channel widening.”
The city of Gulfport hired Brown, Mitchell and Alexander Incorporated to survey the area and that’s the proposed $5 million project the firm came up with. All the while, the firm and the city are making sure to keep residents in the loop by holding meetings every few months until the 30 property easements are acquired and construction begins. “The goal is to finish the construction by the end of 2016,” said Alexander.
That is a day Willie Spann is looking forward to. “Just being able to go to bed at night and knowing that I’m not going to wake up trying to swim out the house that would help a lot.”
According to Alexander, this is only phase one of the overall project. He believes more phases need to come after this in order to completely take care of flooding problems in the area.
Trash, debris, and overgrown brush fill up parts of Brickyard Bayou in Gulfport, making it hard for flood waters to drain properly. Gulfport resident Willie Spann said, “During heavy rains, I just move out until the rain is over with. I’m afraid to stay in the house during heavy rains because I don’t want to get locked in.”
Temporarily moving out every time it rains becomes harder and harder for the 69-year-old resident. But in just over a year, Willie Spann may not have to move out any longer. From 8th to 30th Street, a huge drainage improvement project is in the works. President of Brown, Mitchell and Alexander Incorporated Dax Alexander said, “East of Highway 49, we need to do a clearing and snagging type project to remove the underbrush, dead trees and, in some cases, trash from the bayou and then upstream, or west of Highway 49, improvements are channel widening.”
The city of Gulfport hired Brown, Mitchell and Alexander Incorporated to survey the area and that’s the proposed $5 million project the firm came up with. All the while, the firm and the city are making sure to keep residents in the loop by holding meetings every few months until the 30 property easements are acquired and construction begins. “The goal is to finish the construction by the end of 2016,” said Alexander.
That is a day Willie Spann is looking forward to. “Just being able to go to bed at night and knowing that I’m not going to wake up trying to swim out the house that would help a lot.”
According to Alexander, this is only phase one of the overall project. He believes more phases need to come after this in order to completely take care of flooding problems in the area.
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