Jacksonville city officials say the LaSalle Street Drainage Improvement Project in San Marco is now complete, capping a yearslong construction effort meant to tame one of the city's most flood-prone neighborhoods. The centerpiece is a new stormwater pump station eventually capable of pumping 70,000 gallons of water per minute, paired with nearly a mile of upgraded stormwater collection pipes running through the surrounding drainage basin.
The completion was reported by News4JAX, which has tracked the project since Jacksonville-based firm Haskell broke ground alongside city leaders and Public Works officials back in May 2023. For a neighborhood that has long dealt with street flooding, stalled vehicles, and water lapping at business doorways during heavy downpours, the milestone closes out a construction process that stretched across multiple phases and several storm seasons.
How the System Is Built to Work
The first phase of construction centered on building the pump station itself between LaSalle Street and the St. Johns River, along with a river outfall and upgraded piping. A later phase added larger pipes to carry water from the neighborhood to the station, improving drainage through the area.
As part of that pipe-replacement work, crews swapped out older 30-inch stormwater pipes for 60-inch pipes fitted with backflow-preventing flaps designed to stop high tides on the tidally influenced St. Johns River from pushing back into residential streets, as detailed by First Coast News. While construction was underway, the city relied on seven temporary pumps capable of moving a combined 7,500 gallons per minute to keep water draining before the permanent station came online, according to Haskell.
A $64 Million Price Tag, Split Between City and State
A $64 Million Price Tag, Split Between City and State The broader effort was part of an estimated $64 million undertaking. The new LaSalle Street facility is a stormwater pump station serving the neighborhood.
The upgrades were intended to improve drainage on LaSalle Street, reduce flooding near LaSalle Street and San Marco Boulevard, and strengthen the area's overall stormwater system. Jacksonville city project plans also call for rebuilding Greenscape Park along the St. Johns River shoreline now that the river outfall and bulkhead reconstruction tied to the pump station are finished, since park land was used to build the outfall into the river, according to Jacksonville.gov.
Construction and a Disruptive Detour Season
Construction brought real headaches to the neighborhood along the way. Hoodline previously reported that Phase 2 detours were expected to begin in spring 2025 around San Marco Boulevard and LaSalle Street. The Jacksonville Daily Record reported that District 5 City Councilmember Joe Carlucci held a community town hall and committed to temporary speed bumps on detour routes.
The System May Not Prevent Every Flood
The project is designed to improve drainage in the area.
The project is complete. San Marco residents and business owners now face a different kind of test: watching how the rebuilt system performs the next time a major tropical storm pushes rain and river surge into the neighborhood at once.
