The cities of Jasper and Kirbyville will be the beneficiaries of the state aid designed to improve roads and drainage infrastructure. Both cities have low-lying areas that have received damage in 2015, 2016 and in 2017 with Hurricane Harvey. If this aid helps break that cycle, it will be money well-spent.
The $19.5 million for Orange County will be used for flood mitigation projects and improved drainage infrastructure in West Orange and Vidor as well as some unincorporated areas. Just like Jasper County, these areas have suffered flood damage in 2015, 2016, 2017 with Hurricane Harvey.
A pattern like that shows a clear need that must be addressed, and this aid takes a comprehensive approach.
West Orange will see improvements at more than 40 sites throughout the city. The work includes reshaping nearly 17,000 feet of street ditches and replacing culverts along a similar distance.
In Vidor, the money will be used in part to construct three detention facilities at Tram Road, Conn Park and Orange Street for a total capacity of 391,700 cubic yards. Another key project is installing storm sewer lines at Orange Street, Lyndale Street, Heritage Drive, and Lamar Street, for a total of 10,300 linear feet.
That’s the kind of real-world help that can help keep more homes and businesses dry when the waters start backing up. And since water in Southeast Texas flows freely from one place to another, any improvement in one jurisdiction can help its neighbors channel water in the right direction when it really matters.
It’s not enough to just protect the people in one city or county. If their excess water is simply dumped on a neighbor downstream, we are collectively falling short. The larger goal is to move that water into larger bodies like the Neches or Sabine River and get it flowing southward into the Gulf of Mexico as safely as possible.
It may be possible to overspend on drainage in Southeast Texas, but if it is we’re not anywhere near that point. Every year, cities and counties in the region must try to do a little more, always learning from past problems and trying to keep those areas dry the next time.
Any opportunity for state or federal aid like this must be pursued. Eventually, this year or in a future year, we will be tested again. We can’t prevent that, but we can be as prepared as possible. State aid like this helps that effort, and Southeast Texans appreciate it.