Moss Point Neighborhood Gets Drainage Makeover
For more than 40 years, flooding after hard rain has been a headache for one Moss Point neighborhood. Today construction crews finally broke ground to remedy that problem.
Broken asphalt, heavy machinery and the buzz of crews hard at work: all the sights and sounds of a 40 year prayer answered for Moss Point resident Mary Jones, who has lived on this street for over 40 years and dealt with flooding ever since. “When we saw the first flood, my baby was 6-years-old. And a neighbor was carrying him on his shoulders and I was like ‘where did all this water come from?’ We didn’t know anything about it.”
What Jones didn’t know was sloped yards funneled rain water into the streets causing the neighborhood to flood because of inadequate drainage. She tells News 25 over the years a number of mayors promised to fix it but Mayor Billy Broomfield is the first to follow through.
“I have to give him props,” said Jones, “Out of all the mayors we’ve had, he is the first to hold fast to his word and get something done.”
Mayor Billy Broomfield said, “There’s been promises to these people for 40 years. They were sort of skeptical and I would be too, if I heard those promises that long. But now, the proof is in the pudding and the buck stops with this administration and the work is being done.”
Broomfield says the work is being paid for by FEMA grants. This work, unlike in the past, will save these residents money. “Someone would have to come in and rescue them and move them out and of course, that affected their insurance premiums because they had to continuously file claims,” said Broomfield.
Work is well underway to repair the drainage on the Rose Drive cul-de-sac. Now, while the construction is going on only feet away from houses, neighbors say the construction is a necessary evil for future peace of mind. “It makes me feel good to know that we are going to be able to walk out to see the glory of God fall but not flood us out,” said Jones.
Mayor Broomfield says he expects the drainage construction to be completed in October.
Broken asphalt, heavy machinery and the buzz of crews hard at work: all the sights and sounds of a 40 year prayer answered for Moss Point resident Mary Jones, who has lived on this street for over 40 years and dealt with flooding ever since. “When we saw the first flood, my baby was 6-years-old. And a neighbor was carrying him on his shoulders and I was like ‘where did all this water come from?’ We didn’t know anything about it.”
What Jones didn’t know was sloped yards funneled rain water into the streets causing the neighborhood to flood because of inadequate drainage. She tells News 25 over the years a number of mayors promised to fix it but Mayor Billy Broomfield is the first to follow through.
“I have to give him props,” said Jones, “Out of all the mayors we’ve had, he is the first to hold fast to his word and get something done.”
Mayor Billy Broomfield said, “There’s been promises to these people for 40 years. They were sort of skeptical and I would be too, if I heard those promises that long. But now, the proof is in the pudding and the buck stops with this administration and the work is being done.”
Broomfield says the work is being paid for by FEMA grants. This work, unlike in the past, will save these residents money. “Someone would have to come in and rescue them and move them out and of course, that affected their insurance premiums because they had to continuously file claims,” said Broomfield.
Work is well underway to repair the drainage on the Rose Drive cul-de-sac. Now, while the construction is going on only feet away from houses, neighbors say the construction is a necessary evil for future peace of mind. “It makes me feel good to know that we are going to be able to walk out to see the glory of God fall but not flood us out,” said Jones.
Mayor Broomfield says he expects the drainage construction to be completed in October.
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