Texas Border Business
Edinburg – Hidalgo County Commissioner Precinct 4 Ellie Torres, in collaboration with Raul E. Sesin, PE, CFM & General Manager of the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1, will break ground on a critical drainage project at 10:00 A.M. on Thursday, April 8, 2021, to expand the existing South Main Drain (Edinburg/ McAllen). “This drainage expansion is important to help increase our drainage capacity, which will ultimately remove water from homes and businesses,” said Torres.
The construction of this project will provide immediate and cost-effective floodwater mitigation to McAllen, Edinburg, and unincorporated areas of Precinct 4. The project will expand the South Main Drain, which serves as the primary outfall to local drainage systems in McAllen and Edinburg. “The funding for this expansion utilizes cost savings from project balancesfrom the
$190 million in drainage bond projects that were approved by Hidalgo County voters and comes at no additional cost to the taxpayers,” said Torres. Hidalgo County CommissionerPrecinct 4 and Drainage District in-house staff will construct the project.
The expansion will more than triple the size of the existing South Main Drain (McAllen/Edinburg) and will contribute to other work being done on the overall Hidalgo Master Drainage System, for which millions in federal grants are being leveraged. “I like to think of it as a water highway. Right now, our community’s storm water is traveling through a two-lane drain. We’re essentially creating the drainage equivalent of a four-lane water highway that will allow storm water to quickly and safely travel away from our homes and businesses and into the county’s drainage systems,” said Torres. To offer further project cost savings, the project was designed in-house by the Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and consists of expanding and widening the regional drain starting from Canton Rd & McColl Rd through the I-69C/ US Expressway 281.
The South Main Drain was originally designed and constructed in the 1980s, largely for an agricultural population. The rapid urbanization of Hidalgo County has made it necessary toenhance the county’s regional drainage systems. To this end, Commissioner Torres is focused on enhancing the Hidalgo Master Drainage System. Commissioner Torres helped secureapproximately $20 million in grant funding through the GLO’s 2015 and 2016 CDBG-MIT Project Competitions to expand the Main Floodwater Channel in other sections of the Main Drain. Commissioner Torres continues to focus on expanding the South Main Drain. A significant amount of our county’s critical infrastructure is located within the benefit area: Hidalgo County’s headquarters, the courthouse, our hurricane evacuation route (I-69C), schools, universities, and primary medical areas. This project will directly benefit an area of approximately 27,315 acres with a population exceeding 150,000 and indirectly benefit an even larger area of 225,000 acres and a population of over 400,000 people.
The event will have limited on-site guests, and we are asking the public join us online via Facebook LIVE @pct4commissionertorres to stream the groundbreaking of this historic event. Members of the press are invited to attend in- person. Social distancing will be enforced and masks must be worn at all times for those in attendance.
WHO: Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres with Hidalgo County Drainage District No. 1 and Hidalgo County representatives and other Elected Officials.
WHAT: Groundbreaking on the South Main Drain (Edinburg/McAllen)
WHEN: 10 A.M., Thursday, April 8, 2021
WHERE: South Main Drain (Canton Rd & McColl Rd Intersection in Edinburg, TX 78541)
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