The next stage in important stormwater drainage improvements in Palmetto Bay was scheduled to begin after July 5 in the area south of SW 148th Street, north of SW 152nd Street, west of SW 88th Avenue and east of S. Dixie Highway. Completion is expected in December.
Bill Kress, communications manager for the Village of Palmetto Bay, explained that everyone has been alerted to the project.
“In addition to the map that links from the homepage and on Facebook, all residents in the affected area received door-hanger-flyers advising of the upcoming project and instructing them to visit the homepage for details,” Kress said.
The village council’s Resolution 2011-33 on May 2 authorized the village manager to proceed with the project, designed by Kimley-Horn and Associates. After a competitive bid process, Ric-Man International Inc. was selected to provide construction services, not to exceed $646,783.
Public Works director Corrice Patterson said it should greatly help that area, once completed.
“The first thing it’s going to do is to remove any standing water on the roadways and any flooding issues will also be addressed,” Patterson said. “We’re going to resurface that entire area once we complete the drainage project. There’s also going to be some striping included on 148th Street in the area of the Wells Fargo Bank, in that right of way where people are parking. We’re going to resurface that area.”
This is the third major project that will be completed in the Mangowood area, one of the sections of the village that has in the past been subject to flooding. Patterson said that her office routinely monitors those locations.
“We do ride the areas whenever we have a heavy rainstorm just to make sure our systems are working properly,” Patterson said. “We have not seen any problems with those, and we continue to move forward with our large drainage projects. We are seeing some major improvement with standing water in the roadways and flooding. Mangowood is an older area where you don’t have the connection of drain structures that you need to have.”
In some cases in the past there was just a trench dug in the ground and there was nowhere for the water to go. The project involves construction and installation of drainage structures, French drains, exfiltration trenches, grading, sodding and roadway paving.
Village Hall is advising motorists to seek alternate routes or follow the posted traffic signs for detours.
Patterson wanted to address one other possible concern for residents about the staging area just north of the work sites where equipment will be parked during the project.
“The contractor has spoken with Publix and will put up some temporary fencing around the staging area, so I don’t want people to think that Publix is doing some kind of construction,” Patterson said. “Once the work is complete, the fence will be taken down and the lot will be restored.”
