McAllen links its hike-and-bike trails via a $5.6M drainage project

McALLEN — City leaders marked the construction of a $5.6 million drainage and trail project that will expand stormwater capacity and connect big chunks of McAllen’s hike-and-bike trail system.

The city held a groundbreaking Tuesday, though technically construction on the project has been going on for months.

Drainage work in the Rio Grande Valley, City Manager Isaac “Ike” Tawil said Tuesday, is a never-ending battle.

“We’re prioritizing what needs to happen first and next,” he said. “On the heels of this one, we’ve got another one, and then another one, and we’re just gonna keep swinging away at it.”

The lateral channel project will expand the stormwater conveyance and storage capacity along the drainage ditch running from about Morris Middle School to past N. McColl Road.

Crews will excavate nearly 150,000 cubic yards of earth and install about 2,000 feet of new storm drainage pipe and 10,000 square yards of concrete erosion protection.

McAllen City Commissioner Joaquin “J.J.” Zamora cracked a joke Tuesday about having the media out to cover a groundbreaking for what is, in essence, a large ditch.

That ditch, Zamora said, is actually a representation of the sort of non-flashy infrastructure investments that set McAllen apart.

“This investment represents our commitment to long-term planning and certainly responsible leadership,” he said. “We don’t react to challenges in McAllen; we prepare for them.”

The project also includes replacing the single-span bridge at N. 2nd Street and adding onto the city’s hike and bike trail system, connecting large spans of trails across 10th Street and giving scores of residences easy access to the network.

The city said the improvements will make crossing 10th Street safe, which it currently isn’t.

“This is what smart growth looks like,” Zamora said. “This is what investing in McAllen and McAllen’s future looks like.”

Construction on the improvements is expected to be completed by May 2027 and will include the partial closing of 10th Street this summer, though the city hopes that closure will be as non-disruptive as possible.

The project is being paid for by a bond voters approved in 2018 that allocated $22 million toward drainage upgrades and $3 million for traffic improvements.

Tawil said those funds have been exhausted, but the city plans to continue using general fund monies to improve drainage infrastructure in the city.