Ridgewood Road in Ridgeland is closed at its intersection with Wilson Drive because of a project to improve drainage in the area.
The city is replacing undersized drainage pipes with a larger box culvert to improve the flow of Purple Creek.
The $700,000 project is among improvements to the Purple Creek drainage basin.
“The improvements will reduce flooding and improve water quality not only for Ridgeland residents but also for areas located downstream of Purple Creek,” said Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee.
With a projected cost of $4 million, the project will result in more than 280,000 cubic feet of additional storm water storage in the Purple Creek drainage basin.
The project also includes rehabilitating the existing Freedom Ridge Park detention pond and constructing a new detention area west of the existing pond and a bank station.
A 4,000-foot nature trail at Freedom Ridge Park is also part of the project.
Waggoner Engineering has partnered with Garver, LLC for hydraulics, calculations and pond design and with ALTA for schematic planning and landscape architecture for the project. Waggoner will also handle the project’s construction phase services, including construction review and administration.
Several sources of funding are being combined to foot the bill for the project.
A transfer of $2 million of Madison County’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation that was matched with a $1.83 million grant from the Mississippi Municipality & County Water Infrastructure Grant Program as well as a $1 million grant from the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund is funding the work. In addition, Madison County granted the city of Ridgeland an additional $500,000 for the Purple Creek tributary work.
The project is expected to provide these benefits:
- Expand outdoor recreational opportunities at Freedom Ridge Park by adding fishing areas, wildlife observation and bird watching, wildlife and habitat education and hiking/walking trails with observation decks, benches and educational signage along the trail.
- Improve the hydraulic capacity of the Purple Creek basin, which will help resolve major flooding, reduce erosion and siltation and preserve the streambank in the immediate area as well as areas of Ridgeland, Madison County, Jackson and Hinds County.
- Expand the attractiveness of Freedom Ridge Park so that it becomes a regional draw with an ecotourism component. The park contains many outdoor recreational facilities and areas including four regulation baseball/softball fields, four regulation soccer fields, four picnic pavilions, two playgrounds, two concession/restroom facilities, a lighted walking trail, a three-acre pond and natural/wooded areas.
- Provide educational resources such as signage and exhibits to identify wildlife, plant life and promote the importance of the natural environment and highlight the local habitat and unique features in Ridgeland. Internal trails and sidewalks connect the park and those will hook into the city’s existing trail system.
One phase of the project has already been completed. An earlier Ridgewood Road drainage improvement project eliminated a culvert constriction in the Purple Creek tributary that caused significant flooding.
