ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — What’s one way to solve the flooding along the bay front in St. Augustine Perhaps a bigger drainage pipe to get the water out of the area.
A project doing just that started this week.
Over the years, the iconic lions at the Bridge of Lions have seen St. Augustine’s streets flood again and again, especially when hurricanes brush by the coast.
However, sometimes roads flood here even on sunny days during high tide and a full moon.
This week, a project is starting aimed to ease flooding along the bay front, especially by the bridge.
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, the $4.2 million project will take out the drainage pipe currently under the road and replace it with a much bigger pipe. The new one will be 60 inches in diameter – or 5 feet wide -- which is considerably larger than the current one.
The idea is that with a bigger pipe, more water on the roads will be able to flow out faster into the bay.
The project will eventually require road detours along Avenida Menendez and on King Street. That's expected in the fall.
The state’s goal is to complete the project by mid-November, just in time for the Nights of Lights.