SAN ANTONIO – County and city leaders celebrated the completion of the Menger Creek Project on Tuesday afternoon.
“This area used to flood significantly with the storms. There was too much water for the channel that was there, so it would flood the properties and the homes around it,” said Mike Frisbie, city engineer of Transportation and Capital Improvements. “So this project has expanded the drainage channel to keep all the stormwater in the channel and not flooding the homes.”
Frisbie said by widening the existing Menger Creek channel, almost 50 homes are no longer in the flood plain.
City officials said the project totaled to $9.3 million, of which $6.5 million came from the city’s 2012 bond and $2.8 million was paid by Bexar County.
The project also brought a new park built at 1526 North Walters St. The park includes a playground, a covered basketball court and exercise equipment.
Residents are excited about the park and different additions to the community.
“It’s a beautiful sight to see the neighborhood get together and have a place to go,” resident Aaron Williams said.
Frisbie said there is more work to do in other areas.
“We have a whole database of a couple billion dollars’ worth of drainage needs in this region here in San Antonio. So there is a lot of projects that are needed to reduce flooding,” Frisbie said.