City of La Grange Details Drainage Improvements They Plan to Tackle With $3.6 Million Grant Funds

Monday night the La Grange City Council heard an update on upcoming drainage improvements from Tim Sanders of BEFCO Engineering.

The City will pay for the project with a more than $3.6 million grant through the Texas General Land Office Sanders said the project will include drainage improvements at five locations in town. They are:

• Washington Street Drainage Improvements - this project will install a new storm sewer system and drainage channel starting in the 300 block of North Jefferson (US 77) to the 300 block of North Washington, and then northwest to Fannie and southwest to North Water St. From there, a new grass-lined channel will convey storm water to a creek and eventually the Colorado River.

• Main Street Drainage Improvements - this new storm sewer system will increase storm water capacity and help mitigate flooding along the historically flood-prone areas along Main St. south of Hanacek Ln.

• Franklin Street Drainage Improvements - this project will upgrade existing storm sewer along Franklin St. from Eblin St. to just south of US 77. From there, a new trunk line will convey stormwater to the Colorado River.

• Weikel Schiller Drainage Improvements - this project involves expanding and existing ditch southeast of Eblin St. the ditch will be concretelined to improve the movement of stormwater.

• Beefhead Ditch Drainage Improvements - these improvements involve replacing an old grate that historically gets clogged. In its place a new concrete basin would be built to better handle stormwater flow, along with improvements to the trunk line.

Sanders said the five projects will be split into two packets for bidding, which will take place soon. According to the grant terms from GLO, all construction must be complete by the end of 2027.

During the discussion, Councilman Ken Taylor suggested that the City should put some money away to inspect existing storm sewer pipes and clear any that are blocked. He said that several years ago during construction of the splash pad on Pearl St., workers cut into a storm pipe and discovered that it was clogged with sand. Taylor said other storm sewer lines in town could be clogged as well. As a first step, he suggested the City could hire someone with a robotic camera to inspect the lines starting from the downstream side. Council took no action on that proposal, since the item on the agenda was only to hear the BEFCO presentation.