With so much rainfall throughout the metroplex, NBC 5 wanted an update on a project expected to mitigate flooding in East Dallas. A solution for East Dallas’ well-documented flood problems has been a long time coming.
“Weeks and days where we have large rainfall in a short amount of time, the system is going to struggle,” said Sarah Standifer with Dallas Water Utilities. “There were some major flood events that were catastrophic where lives and property were lost, and that really set the city forward.”
A few years ago, work started on the Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel. We’re told during a week like the one we’re having now, it would make a huge difference.
“The tunnel would provide an alternate outfall and would decrease the amount of flooding in some of those areas where the rain was,” said Milton Brooks, Project Manager for Dallas Water Utilities.
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It’s a massive multimillion-dollar project that is under construction some 170 feet below ground. The tunnel is expected to protect more than 2,000 commercial and residential properties. Throughout East Dallas, we see signs of progress being made. Feasibility studies started decades ago, and we’re now looking at the tunnel’s completion by Fall 2023.
City officials say the tunnel will have a noticeable impact on areas immediately surrounding the tunnel and south of the tunnel. More capital improvement should be expected beyond its completion date.
“We don’t say that it’s going to be dry ground,” said Brooks. “We don’t say that it’s going to remove all the flooding, it’s going to reduce the flooding.”
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For more information on the Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel, click here.
