BY DAVID BELL FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — Downtown Opelika’s much anticipated storm water drainage improvement project is finally nearing completion. For the past several months, efforts have been underway to alleviate a serious flooding issue during periods of heavy rainfall, especially around First Avenue. Such deluges have impacted local businesses, prompting one business owner to relocate elsewhere.
“After 14 floods and losing tens of thousands of dollars in damages, I’m done — I’ve got to get out of downtown,” said Sarah Gill, owner of Mama Mocha’s Coffee Roastery, in an interview with The Observer last July.
Other business owners suffered similar damage. The flooding problem was first detected following a streetscape project that was done on First Avenue in 2021. Since then, several attempts were made by the city to fix the issue, such as increasing the inlet capacities of storm drains.
“It wasn’t so much significant rainfall that was causing the problem but heavy downpours over short periods of time that overwhelmed the system,” said Opelika City Engineer Scott Parker.
To ensure a permanent solution, the city hired the local civil engineering firm of Barrett-Simpson Inc. to do a full drainage study of the North Railroad Street watershed, which begins at Kentucky Fried Chicken on North Sixth Street and continues down across First Avenue. The study proposed a complete replacement of the storm water inlets on North Seventh Street, and the construction of raised pedestrian pathways that also serve as small dams to channel water in the proper direction. Additional inlets and new piping were added to the project as well.
In September 2024, the Opelika City Council approved the plan and accepted a low bid of $962,000 from SDAC, based out of Montgomery, to build the new system. Construction began in October.
“We anticipated some issues with the project just based on the age and location of old pipes and utility lines in the downtown area, which did present a challenge,” said Parker. “In some locations we had to fabricate drainage pipes to go under existing water lines. That resulted in some change orders and slowed the project down a bit, but overall, construction went very well.”
Parker said there has not yet been a rain event significant enough to fully test the new system, but he expressed confidence that it would be more than capable of serving its intended purpose.
“I was pleased with the design and construction,” he said. “Weather permitting, the project should be completely finished within the next couple of weeks.”
All that remains is basic cleanup and asphalt to be laid on North Seventh Street where new lines were installed. The area will then be reopened to traffic, which has been detoured since the project began.
