CAYCE, S.C. — The City of Cayce has received funding that it says will go towards drainage issues that have annoyed residents for years.
In Wednesday's City Council meeting, two major moves were made to address a growing issue with drainage and flooding.- a check worth $10 million was given to Cayce from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority, and the council approved professional engineering services for the second phase of the Cayce Avenues drainage improvement project.
Tracy Hegler is the city manager and says the money is a huge leg-up for getting the work done. She adds that part of the city is prone to flood, especially from storm water.
'It's just an older neighborhood that was built before we knew how to design storm water management, it's not uncommon, it happens everywhere," she says.
She explains additional funding will also come from the state transportation department making the total cost of the grant $11 million. She adds the drainage project is broken into three phases, with the second phase and will focus on drainage close to the river along Indago and Karlaney streets
"It's going to be either new pipes, bigger pipes, new culverts, upsized culverts, just to capture that flow in a more efficient manner than exists today," Hegler says.
That might not be the only change coming to Cayce's infrastructure.
In Wednesday's meeting, Dara Brown a community health coordinator with Brookland-Lakeview Empowerment Center provided a presentation on a possible walking and biking loop that would run through Cayce.
"So our vision of the loop is to connect Steel Hands and Savage Craft breweries. So starting from Foreman Street with Steel Hands and going up Frank and across State streets towards Savage Craft and then down meeting street in West Columbia, turning left onto Twelfth Street and following Twelfth Street all the way into Cayce." Brown explains.
She says the color is to connect disadvantaged communities, especially communities of color, and additionally provide a safe place for people to walk and shop in the area. The idea is receiving verbal support from the council according to Mayor Elise Partin. She says the project could be a huge help to the local economy.
"We have so many great small businesses but there's space for more and adding in safe ways to bike and to walk we know will actually help to bring more business," she claims.
Brown says the next step is to host some audit walks, where city leaders and the community will come out and survey the proposed improvements, and says she is working to secure grant funding and garner more support from the community.
Residents of Cayce tell us they're excited about both projects, including Randall Clamb. He's an Avenues resident and sees a walking corridor as a safe alternative for his dog walks.
"When you're driving on the street you're thinking about getting over, so if there were sidewalks to walk on, it would just be a lot safer," he says.
He adds additional help with flooding will also be huge for the neighborhood.
"I think it's time to take care of a problem that has plagued us for a long time," Clamb says.