ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Millions in funding to combat flooding issues will soon be coming to the beleaguered St. Petersburg neighborhood of Shore Acres.
St. Pete city councilmembers unanimously approved nearly $8 million from a state grant, roughly half the cost for a major flood mitigation project years in the making.
“This project has been long overdue and I'm glad we are moving it forward,” St. Pete City Councilman Ed Montanari, who represents Shore Acres, said.
"It's good for the morale of the community,” says Kevin Batdorf, the president of the Shore Acres Civic Association, the voice of his neighbors who have been through a rough stretch as of late.
Over the last several months, residents have been pushing for meaningful change, meeting with city leaders on what can be done. They say Thursday’s approval and other recent measures show they are listening.
The Shore Acres Resiliency Infrastructure Project would add pump stations, new box culverts and raise roads around the low-lying area of Connecticut Avenue.
“With this project, we’re expecting to improve level of service by approximately 10 miles of roadway, by reducing flood risk, and as such mitigating risk our residents in flood-prone areas,” city engineering director Brejesh Prayman said.
The city says it’s the first step of more changes to come soon, as they continue to address the long-term sustainability and safety of Shore Acres, which sees street flooding even during regular rain events.
"The project is going to help alleviate a lot of the street flooding that we have during tides,” Batdorf explained.
Alongside this bigger project, the city is also investing millions in replacing 14 backflow preventers within the area this year. Crews have already been out inspecting and clearing existing ones in preparation.
Simply seeing work being done, is a sight for sore eyes in the neighborhood.
“We're seeing results. We're actually seeing results in Shore Acres,” Batdorf said. “We’re very excited about that.”
The project is now moving forward, but there still could be a little while before ground gets broken. We’ll keep you updated when a timeline for the project and contractor is in place.