DELTONA, Fla. – A day after Deltona city officials said they were awaiting approval of a $400,000 grant for a major road project to prevent flooding, the mayor clarified that the funds are already in place.
The city plans to raise about a mile and a half of Elkcam Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in town, from Van Orman Drive to Howland Boulevard.
“(The grant) was approved and signed by Gov. DeSantis last year. While we have a lot of work ahead of us, this helps gets things in motion to ensure our residents have better protections against flooding in the future,” Deltona Mayor Santiago Avila told News 6 on Wednesday.
The stretch of road has two lakes on the north and south sides, making it prone to flooding, especially during storms like hurricanes Ian and Nicole in 2022. Elkcam and nearby residential streets were filled with water and shut down to all drivers, including first responders.
The city is looking to raise that stretch of Elkcam at least 2 feet.
People who live in Deltona near this area told News 6 this is relieving to hear.
“It makes a lot of difference from that. It’s just awful when we have the floods around,” Tracie Giordano said.
Giordano has had to deal with the excess water during several big storms.
“You’re stuck in the flooding and your homes, and there’s a whole bunch of boats going through and picking you up,” she said.
The grant will get the ball rolling on the project.
“That (money) will be used for planning and development, looking at the area and doing the study,” said Dana McCool, a city commissioner.
McCool said the entire project will take a few years to complete.
“What it will do is it will build a culvert system that will push water away, elevate it, so that water can go underneath in equal distribution of water,” she said.
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