Excerpt from the Commercial Dispatch, January 24, 2017. Read the full article here.
In three months, the Seventh Avenue ditch has transformed from an open, jagged trench filled with snakes, exposed pipes and other dangers to an unassuming grassy space.
Willie Riley, a Seventh Avenue resident who's lived near the ditch since 1995, said he's happy the transformation is complete.
"The ditch used to stop up and have snakes and stuff in it," Riley said. "You know, we've got kids and grandchildren who could be falling in the ditch, and we don't want that."
On Tuesday, the city celebrated the completion of the $2.8 million project, which included installation of a new lining and box culverts along 935 feet of ditch from Maranatha Faith Center to Propst Park.
Mayor Robert Smith lauded the work, which was finished early and with costs less than the estimated $3.3 million price tag. Smith also noted the project did not cost the city any money.
The project is the second the city and other groups, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and Greenfield Environmental Multistate Trust, have undertaken to remove creosote and improve drainage in ditches flowing from the former Kerr-McGee plant site. In 2015, the city completed a renovation of the ditch along 14th Avenue.