North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
The property donated by Loris First Presbyterian Church at the corner of Milligan Street and Forest Drive has had activity clearing the land. Brandon Harrelson, director of public works, said the city workers cleaned the overgrowth from a ditch on the property. He said, “The ditch we cleaned out has been on the property, but it was so overgrown we could not maintain it.”
Harrelson stated a drainage grate was installed on the corner where the city upgraded the old pipes and water box with a larger size pipes last summer. He said, “The preexisting pipe was 18 inches and was replaced with 35 linear feet of pipe with a 24 inch cylinder.” And the junction box was replaced with a five by five cement water box that will last years and not break apart as easily as the one that was made from plastic or metal. Harrelson said, “The pipe will have a larger capacity for water to flow to prevent future flooding in that area.” He stated the junction box acts as a reservoir, once it fills with water the mechanism will release water which will help to prevent the flooding seen in the area in the past. Residents in the area will see a significant difference if we have storms as we had two years ago.
Recent drainage repairs have been made on the backside of Holly Street and Fox Bay Road. Harrelson said, “This is not going to happen overnight, we are working on the budget to provide more improvements for the future.” He stated the process takes planning, time and financial backing to continue to improve areas in the city that need attention. Projects are scheduled and will be repaired or replaced once the department budgets are approved by council. Harrelson did say that Watson Street is on the scheduled list.
He said, “I am hoping to get the place dried out and put something on the property,” he continued, “possibly a dog park or something of that nature that has no negative impacts on the storm water.” He said be patient, report any problems and the public works department is scheduling and planning for the future.
