Rock Hill stormwater work gets underway

Even without a rainstorm in the weather forecast, drivers will notice the effects of Rock Hill’s stormwater alleviation work in the next few days.

City crews are already working on four separate improvement projects in different neighborhoods to address flooding issues, and some will require motorists to find other ways to get around town.

Allen Street near Hagins Street is already closed to traffic thanks to a hole dug for a new concrete culvert. Charlotte Avenue will soon be closed near Glencairn Garden between Park Drive and Edgemont while crews add another culvert underneath the road there, according to David Dickson, the city’s stormwater engineer.

Both are part of a $4 million project list approved by the Rock Hill City Council last March, meant to combat some of the most frequently flooded areas using money loaned from a state water fund.

Similar projects are underway on Midbrook Drive and Woodhaven Road, as well as a three-street section of the Rawlinson Acres II subdivision, but because of where the drainage is located in those neighborhoods, Dickson doesn’t expect those roads to be completely closed.

Allen Street could reopen to traffic by the end of the week, while Charlotte Avenue could be closed to through traffic for at least two weeks once work gets underway there, Dickson said.

The Allen Street project is expected to cost $560,492, and work on Charlotte Avenue will run up to $651,000. Nearly $2 million more will be collectively spent on water flow in the other two neighborhoods selected based on need.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 5:49 PM with the headline "Rock Hill stormwater work gets underway."