Jackson is moving forward with the Belhaven Creek Improvement Project.
The city has attained about half of the 16 easements needed for the first phase of the project, and could have all of them by the spring, Engineering Manager Charles Williams said.
The easements are temporary and needed so work crews can use private property to access the creek.
All of the properties needed for the first phase are located along the creek between St. Mary and Laurel streets.
Williams discussed the project at the recent one-percent oversight commission meeting.
The commission had previously agreed to fund the channel’s improvements, and paid for the engineering work for it.
He said that after meeting with engineers and residents, decided to move forward with the first phase of the project, which would include the creek between St. Mary and Laurel streets.
“We will open up the channel as wide as we can, remove and replace the existing box culvert at St. Mary with a larger one, because it bottlenecks,” he said. “What this is going to do is improve flow at that location. It will also provide a benefit upstream.”
Box culverts are designed to be placed under a bridge or road to allow water to drain under the structures unimpeded. The current box culvert is too small to handle the increased runoff from upstream.
“Once we receive the rest (of the easements) we will be prepared to come back and ask for funds.”
Williams was grilled by commissioners who asked why the original plans had been scaled back.
“Last July, we were talking about putting in a retention pond at Newell Field. Now, we’re not talking about doing all of that,” Commissioner Pete Perry said. He wants to take care of the entire creek at once.
Commissioners wanted more details at the next meeting.
Initial plans were revealed to the oversight panel last fall.
They included widening the creek from Woodrow Wilson Avenue to St. Mary and building a retention pond near the corner of Woodrow Wilson and North State Street.
A park is located in that space right now.
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said the project was not being scaled back but prioritized.
“This is a recommendation (on) where we start initially, based on the technical components,” he said. “I have not heard anywhere (we’re not going to do the rest).”
The prioritization was made after meeting with residents and discussing the project with engineers.
Plans were drawn up by Jackson-based Southern Consultants. The firm was brought on in 2016 for approximately $225,000.
“We had a meeting in October with Councilwoman (Virgi) Lindsay and some of the residents from St. Mary who were frustrated about the continual flooding, and from that meeting, we decided where we could start the project,” Williams told the commission.
“We rely on the technical experience of our engineers ... they have been working with the city for 50 years and have a lot of knowledge in water, sewer and drainage.”
Williams said addressing problems at St. Mary’s could improve flow upstream as well and potentially save the city money.
Last year, city officials said the project from Woodrow Wilson to St. Mary would cost around $2 million.
Williams did not have a cost estimate for the first phase, but said if the project provides enough relief, the work upstream might not be needed.
The creek serves the Belhaven drainage basin, which runs from Glenway Drive and Lakeland Drive in the north to Pinehurst Street in the south. East to west, the area stretches from Museum Boulevard to Veterans Memorial Stadium and Millsaps College.
Flooding along the creek has gotten worse in recent years, thanks to the increased frequency of heavy storms, as well as increased development upstream.
According to the National Weather Service more than 99 percent of the drainage basin is developed, with 41.58 percent of it being covered with impervious materials, such as concrete and other building materials.
Impervious materials do not soak up rain water like natural ground, increasing the runoff going into the creek.
