KANSAS CITY, Kan. — For the past several years, the Turkey Creek Flood Control Project has been underway in an effort to alleviate flooding along Southwest Boulevard.
"The Turkey Creek Project, which is a combined effort between the Corps of Engineers, Unified Government, and KCMO was designed and constructed to limit the risk and reduce the frequency and severity of flooding along turkey creek and southwest boulevard corridor," Project Manager Eric Brandt said. "It won't eliminate it flooding, but it'll mitigate it to a degree, it will limit how often occurs and it should limit the severity for when it does occur."
Underground pipes will run underneath railroad tracks to create a pathway for the stormwater to travel into Turkey Creek.
"So Turkey Creek ends at the Turkey Creek Tunnel, which actually starts at about 7th Street and Interstate 35 and takes the water through a 17-foot diameter tunnel all the way to the Kansas river," Unified Government Project Manager, Sarah White said. "And when there is a high rain event, the creek gets very flashy and that tunnel actually can fill up and become a pressurized system. So there is a lot of water that moves through Turkey Creek to the Kansas River."
The $151 million project has been going on since 2007, with multiple construction phases involved.
"They're currently building a junction box to tie in the three 96-inch pipes that have been installed under the BNSF railroad tracks," Project Manager Eric Brandt said. "They're running up to Southwest Boulevard. It's part of the storm drainage system to collect the water up on Southwest Boulevard and get it down through the Turkey Creek Tunnel and to the Kansas River."
The Army Corps. of Engineers is currently in the final construction phases of the project.
"The Missouri interceptor we're looking at here is the last major construction piece of the project," Brandt said. "It's been constructed in two phases - one on either side of the tracks here. The first phase that starts at the Turkey Creek tunnel, we expect to be done this summer."
Brandt stated the other phases will run up to 31st Street and Roanoke Road, with expected completion by early 2021.
