The fallen trees and burning piles of debris scattered aroundbulldozers and trackhoes in the area between Highway 51 South andHalbert Heights seem to belie the project that city officials saywill keep runoff from heavy rains actually flowing awaysmoothly.

Crews from Continental Rails and Excavation, of Hattiesburg,began work in the Halbert Heights area Tuesday, starting on whatamounts to be three years’ worth of fallen trees in the drainageditch path.

“They’ve gotten right in there working on the ditch itself …so many trees have come down in the last few years, starting withKatrina,” said Mayor Bob Massengill. “Then we’ve had other stormsand hurricanes, though most of these are still from Katrina. It’sreally something that has needed to be done for over three yearsand we’re really pleased we could do it.”

Massengill and Public Works Director Steve Moreton said theditch at Halbert Heights handles quite a bit of the city’s runoffwater after a big storm or heavy rain.

“The ditch we’re working on now and the ditch that has alreadybeen riprapped (on the south side of the Halbert Heights bridge)carry a tremendous portion of the storm water after a rain,” themayor said. “Riprapping the ditches also helps with the steambankerosion control, so this helps with the erosion concerns at thesame time as the drainage concerns.”

Moreton said the erosion can be a major problem when trying tokeep portions of the city from flooding after a heavy rainfall.

“Those ditches handle strictly storm water and rain water,”Moreton said, adding that the downed trees cause a backup effect asthe water tries to flow through the ditch system, eventually to theBogue Chitto River. “Over the years the banks erode and the treesand roots give way and the debris in the channel causes it to backup.”

Moreton said riprapping, a process that involves clearing theditch and, in essence, paving it, is a project that couldhypothetically go on for as long as funds were available.

“You’re trying to get that flow of water out of here quicker,”he said. “There’s a lot of this that could be done. You couldriprap as far as you have money to do it.”

The best part of the project is that the city will be payingless than $20,000 out of its pocket, Massengill said.

Community Development Block Grants are paying approximately$665,000 of the costs of the project, while another $130,000 iscoming from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which alsoprovided over $500,000 just after Katrina to riprap the southportion of the ditch. Massengill said NRCS grants have helped andwill continue to help with other ditch work projects in thecity.

Massengill told the board of aldermen at a recent meeting thatContinental Rails and Excavation has a large amount of similar workin their portfolio. The current work extends from the HalbertHeights bridge to the Paul Barnett Nissan dealership, and the mayorsaid it should be complete by summer.

“They’re going to clear it and widen it and straighten it andhead from Halbert Heights up to the dealership on BrookwayBoulevard,” Moreton said, adding that in some cases the city had tohave permission from landowners whose property was affected by thework.