Anyone who has driven through Columbia in recent months has surely encountered occasional road closures, random patches in the road and workers digging holes as deep as their own bodies. While it might be a bit inconvenient for motorists, the upside is huge for everyone in Marion County.
For decades, downtown Columbia remained at risk of severe flooding anytime significant rain came through the area. But over the past two years, the City of Columbia has been updating its storm drainage and continues to make improvements throughout the city.
Crews have worked up and down Church Street all summer and are currently working on Honey Alley at the intersection of Second Street as well as from Citizens Bank on Main Street to the intersection of Church Street and High School Avenue.
“Our goal is to get that water there eliminated and mitigated,” Columbia Mayor Justin McKenzie.
The current work being done on Honey Alley and Main Street was actually approved in November, according to McKenzie, but the city originally was waiting until after the Christmas festivities to get started. However, Columbia then had to wait on the materials to arrive, which were delayed several months.
The city recently proposed a plan to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) that McKenzie believes will be accepted. McKenzie thanked Rep. Ken Morgan, R-Morgantown and other legislators for earmarking $500,000 to the city for the project that has allowed the work to continue without costing local taxpayers anything extra. The money would also help Columbia meet its match with FEMA.
“We’ve seen tremendous improvement downtown from Phase 1, but there are actually six phases to
(the project). We’re just trying to continue those improvements and make it better. We want to eliminate the problem for many, many years to come,” McKenzie said. “Right now, we’re just waiting on FEMA.”
If FEMA approves the plan, it will allow the city to complete Phases 2 and 4, which include Second Street and moving further north up Main Street.
McKenzie said he’s really excited about the work getting done on Second Street because that area of the storm drainage line is actually what affects the flooding at the intersection of High School Avenue and Church Street.
“The line actually runs through the woods and comes in behind Colonial Funeral Home. It basically runs between the funeral home and Kids Hub, and the line there is just undersized,” he said. “It drains, but it’s undersized and can’t keep up.”
