This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate
Nearly four years after Tropical Depression Imelda, Southeast Texas has received nearly $26 million in additional funding for disaster recovery-related improvements and upgrades necessitated by the storm.
The money was just a portion of more than $227 million in federal disaster recovery funds, which are being administered by the Texas General Land Office, from 2019 flooding in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Imelda in Southeast Texas.
Specifically, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham Friday announced just over $43 million in disaster recovery funds for 44 federally-eligible infrastructure projects to help communities recover from the floods and Imelda.
The Texas General Land Office disaster recovery team and Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham presented the award checks to several cities in Southeast Texas on Friday at the Sunlight Manor Apartments, located at 2950 8th St. in Beaumont, and the Orange County Convention and Expo Center, located at 11475 Farm Road 1422 in Orange.
Other Southeast Texas city projects that received $1 million include:
- South Broadway Road improvements project in China
- Nome wastewater treatment plant improvements in Nome
- Sewer system improvements in Orange
- Kinard Estates in Orange County
- Street improvements in Orange County
- Streets/flood and drainage improvements in Pine Forest
- Water system improvements in Pine Forest
- Sewer system improvements in Pinehurst
- Life station improvements in Pinehurst
- Archie Street in Vidor
- Orange Street in Vidor
- Flood and drainage improvements in West Orange
- Street improvements in West Orange
“Consecutive disasters have devastated communities in the Lower Rio Grande Valley and Southeast Texas, but the Texas General Land Office is here to help,” Buckingham said in a news release about the awards. “These critical infrastructure awards will divert floodwaters away from homes, increase the resiliency of communities to respond to natural disasters, and restore peace of mind when the next storm hits.”
The city of Beaumont was awarded $1 million for drainage improvements in the Laura Addition.
"This project will increase the capacity of roadside ditches by channel regarding, expanding culverts with new pipes of increased size, and excavating a new outfall channel connecting directly to Jefferson County Drainage District No. 6 ditch," according to a project description from the General Land office. "Construction will include excavating channels, removing and replacing pipes, installing storm pipes, and reshaping ditches."
Beaumont Mayor Robin Mouton attended Friday's event to accept the award on behalf of the city.
"Drainage is ongoing, so any dollars that we can get to mitigate flooding and drainage problems, it's always welcome," Mouton said. "It's great that the General Land Office is still working in Jefferson County because streets and drainage and things like that are always ongoing, so you just don't know until you know and so anytime that we could get dollars to offset sewer, drainage, we welcome it."
The city of Port Arthur received $990,000 for replacing brick manholes.
"The project will demolish and dispose of brick manholes and replace them with concrete manholes in various parts of the city," according to the project description.
Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bartie said the manholes' age -- some almost 100 years -- causes significant leaks.
"We are going to be able to use some of those funds to replace that," Bartie said. "Also, we're going to use some of those funds to even change manhole covers to the new composite manhole covers that I've seen the presentations on and how they keep stormwater and sewage down in the manhole."
The city was also rewarded $990,000 for a Ninth Avenue emergency access route.
"With these funds, the city of Port Arthur will create an emergency access route for evacuation and transportation during emergency situations," according to the project description. "Construction will include rehabilitating a one-mile stretch of 9th Avenue between 36th Street and Evergreen Drive above the 100-year flood water surface elevation, installing sanitary sewer pipes, manholes and water pipes and assembling a fire hydrant."
Bartie said the city will use the funds to relocate infrastructure in the avenue's corridor.
However, he would not specify what infrastructure would be relocated.
Southeast Texas cities will receive a total of $16 million from Friday's grants.
Two ITEX Management group apartment complexes received $5 million each for Imelda-related apartment rehabilitation.
Sunlight Manor Apartments, located at 2950 S. Eighth St. in Beaumont, received nearly $5 million.
Manager Ashley Thomas said the funds will go toward renovating the property's interior and exterior.
The complex has a total of 120 units is caters entirely to low- to moderate-income tenants. The Department of Housing and Urban Development requires at least 70% of the units to be low-to-moderate income to receive the funds, according to Texas General Land Office Communications Director Brittany Eck.
Stonegate Manor Apartments, located at 4121 Turtle Creek Dr. in Port Arthur, also was awarded $5 million. The complex has a total of 240 units, with 215 designated as low- to moderate-income housing units.
ITEX Management Regional Manager Ganelle Scott said the company is excited to be receiving these funds.
"Just being able to improve how (the tenants) see themselves living in the unit, seeing that improve makes you feel a whole lot better personally," Scott said.