$100,000 dredging project planned in Beaufort. Here’s the problem the work will fix

Get ready to see some big equipment working near the intersection of Battery Creek Road and Southside Boulevard in Beaufort beginning this week as the city continues ongoing efforts to fix drainage problems.

Dredging will begin on a creek that leads from Arthur Horne Park to Basin 2 in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood, the city announced Friday. The creek has a slight hump in it that has prevented drainage of water after heavy rains, causing flooding in the Southside Park area.

It is a sensitive area so permits were needed from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer and the state Ocean Coastal and Resource Management, said Neal Pugliese, a consultant for the city.

The creek obstruction has created drainage problems at Southside Park, along Southside Boulevard and the Broad Street and Arthur Horne areas, Pugliese said.

The $95,000 to $100,000 job will allow storm water to appropriately flow to Battery Creek. Work is expected to be completed within 30 days.

In April 2021, the city completed the $6.5 million Mossy Oaks storm water project, alleviating repeated flooding in the 580-acre Battery Creek drainage basin. The dredging work that begins next week was not done at that time because it involved a different set of permits, Pugliese said.

The city’s next major storm drainage project is a 200-acre area bounded on the west by Harrington Street, Boundary Street on the north, Waterfront Park on the south and The Point area on the east. It includes most of the downtown area. The study recommends 28 projects — with a price tag of $28.3 million — to alleviate the chronic flooding.