Detroit, Michigan is making progress on a $8.6 million project which will ultimately curb flooding.
The project will gut 10 medians and install storage tanks and drains in a west side neighborhood, reported Crain’s Detroit Business.
The project is part of a $500 million, five-year infrastructure upgrade underway by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. According to Mayor Mike Duggan, him and other officials are expected to gather to give an update on construction work on Oakman Boulevard between Joy Road and Tireman Avenue.
According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the Aviation neighborhood has experienced significant street flooding and basement backups, particularly during storms in 2014 and 2016.
Detroit-based Blaze Contracting Inc. started construction in March. The project is scheduled to finish by the end of this year. According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the medians on Oakman are getting storm water management equipment including underground storage tanks, new piping and drainage and catch basins, per the media alert.
The Oakman project has been in planning for four years and is part of the effort by the water department to replace aging water and sewer systems that have been neglected.
This is the first such major infrastructure upgrade since 1930, said the department when it announced the initiative in June 2019.
The reliability of water mains and attempting to reduce flooding through storm water infrastructure improvement are key goals. The five-year capital improvement program started in 2018 and runs into 2023.
Detroit is leveraging lease payments from the Great Lakes Water Authority to get bond funding for the improvements. The city is also using extra revenue from improving its water fee collection rate since 2016.
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