Hurricane Ian to put McCoys Creek improvements to the test

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — McCoys Creek is an area of Jacksonville known for flooding. But a $105 million restoration project of the creek could help prevent flooding from storms like Hurricane Ian.

Neighbors in the area said they’re waiting to see if any of the changes are working. The most noticeable improvement is a newly designed retention pond on Broward Street. Neighbors said it was finished about a month ago.

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The pond features new walkways and green space, but most importantly, it has new drains to help prevent flooding.

”It will be interesting to see how it plays out with this type of storm coming toward us,” Sandra Jenkins, a neighbor, said Monday as Hurricane Ian approached. “Hopefully we can literally see the changes that have been put into place to see if this is really helping.”

The three-year project will cost the city a total of more than $105 million. It will redesign drains, improve the greenspace, widen and deepen the creek, and replace the King and Stockton Street bridges. McCoys Creek will also eventually be part of the Emerald Trail.”

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In addition to the Emerald Trail -- restoring the creek back to its natural size; natural flow. It’s also going to eliminate contaminants from the soil and eventually people will be able to canoe and kayak,” said City Council member Tyrona Clark-Murray, who represents the 9th District, said.

She said factories that once lined McCoys Creek left years of pollution behind and this will help restore the area.

It’s the first project on the city’s Local Mitigation Strategy according to Groundwork Jax, the nonprofit organization that partnered with the city on the project.

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Groundwork Jax is also working on Hogan’s Creek Restoration, which is second on the city’s project list. Hogan’s Creek has flooded areas around UF Health down to Springfield.

The organization said both creeks have seen years of pollution, failing infrastructure, and overdevelopment that have gotten them to the point of necessary restoration.

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