City to support county drainage
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

The Wharton City Council on Monday will consider offering formal support of Wharton County's flood reduction study.

City Manager Andres Garza Jr. said council will likely pass a resolution that expresses the importance of the project for residents both inside and outside the city limits.

"It's important for all of us," Garza said. "We definitely support them in what they're doing."

Garza said the resolution will assist the county in pursuing a Texas Water Development Board grant for the study. The cost of the study is estimated at $5 million. It includes a comprehensive look at every stream, river and creek in the county in an effort to reduce flooding. The study is expected to be completed by March of 2009.

In other business Monday, council will consider:

• Approving signage at the intersection of Junior College Boulevard and Tiger Avenue (Ahldag Street). The city plans to make the intersection - which used to be a two-way stop - a fourway stop. Traffic going north on Junior College Boulevard now has a stop sign. The entire roadway was recently re-paved and widened to accommodate heavy traffic. Temporary striping was also done near the intersection to help designate the appropriate lanes.

• Taking a formal stance on the projected route of the I-69/Trans Texas Corridor project. Garza said the Houston Galveston Area Council is seeking information from municipalities and governments within its region concerning the proposed corridor. That information will be passed along to a project "working committee" which will then report to the Texas Department of Transportation. Garza said two proposed routes have so far been suggested, with one passing north of Wharton and the other following the footprint of U.S. 59.

"The H-GAC wants to know where we stand on this and the issues we see on this project," Garza said. "There are positions that need to be taken."