Columbus officials likely will use a recently awarded $125,000 grant to complete drainage improvements along Seventh Avenue North near Propst Park, according to Mayor Robert Smith.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service July 23 awarded the grant to the city after Mississippi”s congressional delegation requested the funds from the agencies.
“The money will be used to complete a drainage improvement project over on Seventh Avenue North,” Smith said Monday morning. “We were hoping for $200,000 this time, but we are definitely happy with the money we got.”
The city previously received a grant of about $535,000 to use for the Seventh Avenue North project, bringing the total funds secured for the project to about $660,000.
“Back in 2005, we estimated the project would cost about $1.5 million,” Smith explained. “But time has passed since then. It”s probably about $1.7 million now.
“But next year, we are pretty much assured to get more money than we did this year to use for that project,” Smith added.
During the project, crews will work to bury currently exposed utility lines running across a creek alongside Seventh Avenue North.
Crews also will line the now-dirt ditch with concrete, which will improve water flow in the area and reduce flooding, Smith explained.
“It will just be a complete upgrade for that entire area,” Smith said. “We will concrete that entire ditch, install new culverts and improve the sewer and utility lines that are exposed over the ditch.
Smith said he and other Columbus leaders requested the congressional delegation write a letter requesting the funds, during a trip to Washington earlier his year. “I”ve been told that letter really helped to push us up the list to receive the grant,” Smith said.
Crews could begin working on the project during the next few months, as one of the grant”s stipulations requires the city complete the project by March 10, 2010, Smith said.
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