The Mill Creek Tunnel is supposed to help carry rain water from roadways to White Rock Creek, but it’s still not done. NBC 5’s David Goins get an update on the East Dallas project.
The area's latest flash flood overnight receded into sunshine Monday with just a few standing water reminders of the downpour.
However, a viewer video provided to NBC 5 near the Baylor Hospital campus showing a vehicle floating down the roadway provided a reminder of the challenges motorists and neighbors face during hard rains in East Dallas.
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WATCH HERECouncil member Paul Ridley, whose District 14 covers parts of East Dallas and downtown, says the drainage system was designed nearly a century ago to handle water runoff from a very different Dallas than what currently exists.
"The system is overwhelmed by the new development and the runoff from that development," Ridley says.
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SIGN UP An underground tunnel project, five miles in length from Uptown, across parts of East Dallas and Fair Park, is about 80% complete, according to Ridley and Dallas Water Utilities.
The Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel sits 75 to 150 feet underground. Excavation work started in 2019 and was largely complete by July 2022.
The work happening now, according to DWU, involves placing a 15-inch-thick layer of concrete, serving as a smoothing liner, throughout the inside of the tunnel. A little more than 20% of the lining work is complete as of May 2025.
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"The completion is now March of '27, so that is behind schedule," Ridley said.
Sarah Standifer, director of Dallas Water Utilities, says the city is working with the schedule provided by the contractor that lists 2027 as the opening for the tunnel to begin carrying storm water.
"The tunnel boring machine itself took a little longer to assemble and get into excavate the underground portions and mine and excavate," Standifer said.
"We're doing everything we can from our end to make sure that we're with them daily doing inspections and pushing forward," Standifer said.
However, she added, once the tunnel is complete, homes and businesses in the immediate areas near the intake sites will see a noticeable improvement during heavy rains.
“Those will actually take neighborhood water and immediately provide some relief around the tunnel areas and below the tunnel," Standifer said.
Standifer added that the city is seeking funding sources for future phases of the project, which will include the installation of lateral lines that will tie into six shaft openings along the tunnel, to help provide more flood relief for neighborhoods.
