CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — We could definitely use some rain right now, but when it pours, people living along Oso Creek often have to deal with flooding.
Next week, the city council considers a proposal which would lay the groundwork for improvements.
The city plans to hire a consultant to identify improvements which can be made to the creek as well as nearby ditches at a cost of $4.7 million, covered by a grant from the Texas Water Development Board.
The city applied for the grant in March 2020, and recently learned it had been selected by the TWDB.
The project covers a 12 mile stretch of the creek, from the Yorktown Blvd. Bridge to Greenwood Dr. Over the next 2-3 years, the city will develop construction plans so that projects are shovel-ready when the city can find funding.
“After the 2–3-year process, once we have those shovel-ready projects, depending on what grants are available; federal, state, local; we'll go after those grants,” said Gabriel Hinojosa, Assistant Director of Public Works for Stormwater.
Hinojosa says protecting residents along the creek is the city's top priority. We've often reported on flooding along the creek. Hinojosa says he's confident the city, along with Nueces County, are on the right track.
“Definitely that's our number one objective,” said Hinojosa. “With some of the existing studies that are going on by the county and city, I think we're going to have a good knowledge of where those areas are and where we can plan for these projects.”
Oso Creek improvements are listed at $44 million in the city's Capital Improvement Plan.
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