Southside Storm Pipe Repairs Prove Effective

Residents in Dunedin's southside neighborhood hoped last August that a disruptive, yearlong excavation project on their streets would relieve chronic flooding.

City that the $3 million heavy construction needed to install a large network of storm pipes primarily underneath Orangewood Avenue would cause pesky road closures and detours, hinder access to their homes for up to six weeks at a time, and otherwise challenge their patience through at least August 2012.

Officials promised residents that once the project was finished, the project would alleviate flooding.

“This project doesn’t only help the people who front this pipeline,” Doug Hutchens, public works and utilities director, said at a public meeting in August 2011, but it also helps neighboring streets because the water will have somewhere to go.

And even with a few months left on the project, put that promise to the test.

The South Dunedin Citizen Advisory Group posted happy news on its Facebook page on Monday:

For all of you who have endured the painful construction process this last year in our neighborhood.....I am happy to report that at least in my immediate neighborhood and on Roanoke St, we have had NO FLOODING from Debbie! That is a first in over 30 years!!! Please email our wonderful Mayor and City Commissioners and tell them THANK YOU for LISTENING and TAKING ACTION for OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! It would have never happened without their dedication and continued support for the Revitalization of South Dunedin!