The city promised flood relief for East Dallas nearly a decade ago. What happened to the project? – Dallas News

The city promised flood relief for East Dallas nearly a decade ago. What happened to the project?  Dallas News

Thursday’s rainstorms and flash flood warnings brought back a familiar problem for many Old East Dallas residents: dated infrastructure fighting to keep inundated streets clear of pooling water. Flooding has been a decades-long problem for the area, which the city promised to solve with the Mill Creek Drainage Relief Tunnel in 2018. But that solution — which city officials said would be complete by 2024 — is still nowhere to be seen. The 5-mile tunnel is set to stretch from the U.S. Highway 75 and Woodall Rodgers intersection all the way to White Rock Creek. It's designed to mitigate flooding near the Baylor University Medical Center near Buckner Park and Fair Park.

Related: Officials christen the great big digging machine that will carve a 5-mile tunnel under Dallas The city has been working on the project for decades. Voters approved bond funding for the project in 2006 and 2012 — bringing the project budget to just over $320 million. City leaders said it was a worthy investment to bring flooding relief to East Dallas drainage systems — many of which were built in the 1930s. “This project means a lot of relief for a lot of people,” former Dallas Water Utilities Director Terry Lowery told The Dallas Morning News in 2019. “It's not sexy, and most people will never know