Proposition 2: All about drainage





Bonds in proposition 2 in the upcoming bond election are designed to eliminate flooding such as this on Alister Street after heavy rains. Here Joe Folse and Debbie Madden walk Cocoa, a female chocolate Lab, along Alister Street on July 5.

Bonds in proposition 2 in the upcoming bond election are designed to eliminate flooding such as this on Alister Street after heavy rains. Here Joe Folse and Debbie Madden walk Cocoa, a female chocolate Lab, along Alister Street on July 5.

The second of two items on the Nov. 7 bond election ballot concentrates on drainage instead of on streets and drainage, as the first proposition did.

Included in proposition two are projects on Station Street from Beach Street to outfall 13, at the city marina; on Alister Street, providing an additional drainage pipe; on the concrete drainage ditch that runs from Avenue C to Avenue G; and work on the drainage outfall that discharges storm water into the flats on the south side of the city.

The project on Station Street from Beach Street to outfall 13 aims to improve drainage by increasing pipe capacity on the east side of Station Street. This project would include tying a new 24-inch pipe into existing inlets from Beach Street to East Street and a new 30-inch pipe from East Street to outfall 15. An additional 18-inch pipe will upgrade the capacity on White Avenue. Total cost on Station Street is estimated at $314,504.91.

Alister Street near Cotter Avenue would be improved by adding a 36-inch pipe in the existing drainage easement across from Alister towards the marina. The easement has been covered by concrete, however, and engineers agree that tearing up the concrete to add a drainage pipe may not be cost effective. The project is estimated at $59,341.15. An alternative, to buy new easement farther west, was not priced.

Officials describe the concrete drainage ditch from Avenue C to Avenue G as “an integral component of the drainage system for this area of the city.” However, they say the ditch is undersized and not well-maintained. Built in 1991, the ditch has a bottom width of 12 inches, which engineers say should be widened to 27 inches and concrete lined.

“The entire project is relatively inexpensive, yet will provide a drastic improvement in the storm drainage system upstream of the ditch,” according to the engineering report.

In all, the project would:

+ Widen and clean the ditch between Avenue C and Avenue G

+ Increase the capacity of culverts under the street between avenues C and F

+ Widen the drainage ditch between avenues C and F

+ Clean and regrade the ditch in the Avenue D right of way

+ Widen the ditch between avenues F and G.

The project is estimated at $613,382.69.

A proposal to improve drainage on Avenue A from Ninth Street to the concrete drainage ditch notes that the flooding near the intersection of Oleander and Avenue A occurs because the elevation is lower than the hydraulic gradient at this point; therefore, water backs up in the open ditch on the south side of Avenue A.

The addition of a four-by-threefoot reinforced concrete box from Ninth St. to Oleander Street and a 24-inch box from Oleander Street to the concrete drainage ditch will eliminate this problem in the future, for a cost of $272,262.22, engineering studies indicate.

In addition, work on drainage outfall 19 is included in the ballot. Studies show that the outfall, on the south side of town, needs additional excavation to properly connect to the existing flats. Price of the project is estimated at $75,900.

Early voting in the election begins Monday, Oct. 23 at the Community Center, 408 N. Alister St. It continues through Oct. 27, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; then, Saturday, Oct. 28, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sunday, Oct. 29, noon-5 p.m.; and Oct. 30-Nov. 3, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, polls are open 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

While voters need not go to the Community Center to cast an early ballot (you may legally vote at any polling place in Nueces County), only the Community Center polling spot will include Port Aransas bonds on the ballot.

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