The underground drainage overhaul tearing up Destrehan Drive and Murray Hill Drive is underway, addressing a longstanding flooding problem in the neighborhood. Crews have spent recent weeks laying new subsurface pipe designed to carry stormwater away from the roadway instead of letting it pool on the asphalt.
A video featuring Parish President Matthew Jewell is among the materials about the project. The drainage improvements are designed to reduce flood risk for the surrounding area. The project area has experienced significant flooding historically, and construction work is taking place along the two streets.
Parish project descriptions call for adding subsurface drainage to the area. The work is intended to address recurring flooding on Destrehan Drive and Murray Hill Drive.
A $2.1 Million Contract Years in the Making
Parish bidding specifications describe the work in specific terms: reinforced concrete pipe, catch basins, laterals and trench drains are to be installed across the project area on both streets. Those plans show the project moving beyond general drainage proposals toward a defined underground system.
Flooding Reported Before Construction
The need for drainage work follows documented flooding complaints. WWL-TV previously reported that some Destrehan residents said their homes flooded for the third time in less than two years during a heavy-rain event; one resident also reported flooding in December 2018.
The project also fits within a wider planning framework. The Louisiana Watershed Initiative's Region 6 Watershed Plan describes itself as a tool for reducing flood risk and managing flooding impacts, and its 16-parish coverage area includes St. Charles Parish. The plan provides regional context for the parish's drainage work but does not, by itself, describe the Murray Hill and Destrehan Drive project.
The project moved from planning to construction.
Construction Work Continued in the Neighborhood
Construction work took place on both streets.
The parish also has plans for additional culverts beneath the Canadian National Railroad tracks.
Part of a Much Larger East Bank Push
The Murray Hill and Destrehan Drive project is separate from a roughly $10 million Ormond-area drainage project approved by the parish with BLD Services, LLC as the contractor. That project is aimed at improving stormwater outflow beneath rail lines and was covered by Hoodline when it was announced in connection with decades of flooding in the broader area.
The parish has also pursued broader East Bank flood-control work.
Flood Risk Remains a Parish Concern
The drainage work is intended to reduce flood risk in the area.
