Collierville will soon be able to start work on some street drainage improvement projects thanks to a $2.2 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.
The grant is part of leftover monies from the 2011 Disaster Relief Fund that was given to Shelby County after severe flooding. This is the third and final round of money from the fund.
“We’ll be working in Alcorn Village, Harris Estates and in the Friendship Cove, where we’ve recently had some flooding,” said Dale Perryman, town engineer for Collierville. “Also, we’ll be working on Phase 2 of a downtown drainage project which will extend from Sycamore Road to Center Street We’re going to improve the stream there to help with drainage in downtown, and hopefully open it up for more development.”
The money comes to Collierville through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program. Block grants fund a wide range of community projects and are usually administered by state and local governments, unlike categorical grants, which are given for more specific purposes.
Collierville has 18 months to use the grant money. The environmental work that precedes the design work has already begun. Environmental work includes checking for flood zones and endangered species. This can take from 60 to 90 days to complete.
