3/27/2007
Media Contact:
Angie Nussmeyer
317-327-5235 |
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Project to provide Mars Hill residents relief
City breaks ground on improvement project in neighborhood where 72 percent of residents struggle with standing water after rainfall
INDIANAPOLIS – The Mars Hill neighborhood and parts of southern Wayne Township will soon have relief from street, yard and basement flooding thanks to a $5.5 million investment in the city’s stormwater infrastructure.
Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell, Councillors Bob Cockrum and Dane Mahern as well as representatives from the Department of Public Works, the Clean Stream Team and the community were on-hand today to break ground on the extensive drainage improvement project.
“For several decades, wet weather has caused street, yard and basement flooding in this area,”
said Deputy Mayor Steve Campbell. “As evidenced today, last weekend’s rain continues to cause wide-spread standing water problems where in other parts of the city, the streets are dry.”
A community survey conducted in 2001 by the Department of Public Works (DPW) showed that 72 percent of respondents reported their streets had standing water for more than six hours after rainfall. Thirty-nine percent reported the standing water was greater than one foot.
Standing water is a health and safety hazard. Frozen water on streets causes black ice and potholes and deteriorates pavement. During warm weather, standing water can become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
“This is more than an investment in our infrastructure, it’s an investment in improving the neighborhood’s quality of life” added Campbell.
Part of Mayor Peterson’s Clean Streams-Healthy Neighborhoods program, construction for this project has been broken into two phases. The $4.3 million Phase I projects begin March 2007 and are estimated for completion in December 2007. During this phase:
• Stormwater connections to the combined sewer will be sealed off and stormwater will be redirected to State Ditch; a
• New drainage system will be constructed;
• Streets within this project area will be resurfaced to better convey stormwater run-off; and
• Underground stormwater quality treatment units will be installed, which will improve water quality before it is discharged into State Ditch.
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