Mayor Madeline Rogero and City Council members today cut a ribbon and dedicated a new $3.7 million drainage system designed to address years of flash flooding on Cross Park Drive.

“Property owners and motorists have had to contend with serious flooding in this area for a long time,” Mayor Rogero said. “Four hundred acres drain to this low spot, and in the past even a moderate rainfall could wreak havoc, so our engineers and consultants faced a tough challenge.
 
“They rose to the occasion. This new infrastructure can handle water flow of more than 280,000 gallons per minute, which will better control run-off water and keep traffic moving.”

With the confluence of utility lines in the area, fixing the problem was complicated. It involved coordinating with KUB gas and electric, West Knoxville Utility District water and sewer, Lenoir City Utility District electric, AT&T local and long-distance service, and Colonial Pipeline.

The drainage system spans 3,200 linear feet and includes roadway, channel and culvert upgrades on Cross Park Drive from Park Village Road to the Ten Mile Creek crossing near Bridgewater Road. The project includes 1,200 feet of 4-by-12-foot concrete box culvert; 500 feet of twin 2-by-4-foot concrete box culvert; 600 feet of 36-inch concrete pipe, and another 460 feet of concrete ditch.

Mayor Rogero recognized the efforts of Twin K Construction; Fulghum, MacIndoe & Associates, the engineering firm that designed the project; and City of Knoxville Engineering Department employees Tom Clabo, Shawn Fitzpatrick and Andrew Luttrell.

Cross Park Drive is the second major drainage project that the City has finished this year to alleviate chronic flooding. 

Last January, the City officially opened a reconstructed $1.6 million Prosser Road in East Knoxville. By the end of 2015, the Westland Drive $1.8 million drainage system upgrade will be completed.