Precinct 4 officials break ground on new drainage project

Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Ellie Torres, second from right, and project engineer Javier Hinojosa, third from right, are joined by a number of local dignitaries as they break ground on the Mile 17 North Road and 83rd Street drainage improvement project in San Carlos on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024. (Dina Arévalo | darevalo@themonitor.com)

SAN CARLOS — In just about two months, residents of San Carlos will be able to breathe a little bit easier the next time it rains.

That’s because work is currently underway on a new drainage improvement project near Mile 17 North Road east of Edinburg.

Hidalgo County officials broke ground on the project during a brief ceremony Monday morning, where Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres shared her excitement.

“We are truly blessed to have this opportunity to break ground today on a very, very important project that is going to impact so many people. This is the Mile 17 and 83rd Stormwater Project,” Torres said.

Funding for the $416,000 drainage improvement is coming from the American Rescue Plan Act, which prioritized funding that would better public health in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The improvements will consist of about 1,700 linear feet of underground drainage and inlets along Mile 17 North Road in the vicinity of 83rd Humphrey Avenue.

It will also connect to an existing drainage system in a nearby San Carlos subdivision, explained project engineer Javier Hinojosa.

“There’s also approximately 3,000 feet of cleaning and widening the drainage system that will take the outfall of the drainage waters from the lines that we’re installing,” Hinojosa said.

Javier Hinojosa, left, engineer on the Mile 17 North and 83rd Road drainage project, speaks with Precinct 4 Hidalgo County Commissioner Ellie Torres during a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, in San Carlos. (Dina Arévalo | darevalo@themonitor.com)

The project marks the 10th out of a list of a dozen such improvements.

“We are now going into our sixth year of actively working and prioritizing drainage projects to mitigate stormwater issues in Precinct 4, such as widening the main drainage systems to create that connectivity throughout the precinct and the county,” Torres said.

The commissioner added that COVID-19 relief funding has helped county leaders fund “long overdue” improvements to the region’s decades-old drainage systems.

“Many years ago when communities like this were built, whatever that was installed for drainage at the time worked. But, as the county has grown… as development has taken place, we now have more and more runoff water, and so the drainage systems have become somewhat antiquated,” Torres said.

Already, the project is about 30% complete. Hinojosa estimated it should be finished within the next two months.

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