Watershed Voice Local, News

Kalamazoo to receive $38 million to mitigate flooding along Arcadia Creek

Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt (center) joined state and local officials in Kalamazoo (including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, also pictured here) to make a major funding announcement to improve transportation infrastructure in Michigan and other states nationwide. (Courtesy photo)

The City of Kalamazoo has been awarded $38 million in federal funding that will be used to mitigate flooding along the Arcadia Creek.

The funding, which comes from the Federal Highway Administration, is being used for a multi-year project that aims to redesign and increase the stormwater capacity of the creek.

The project will involve removing about 60 acres of land and 70 homes and buildings from the floodplain. It will also make the infrastructure more resilient to increasingly frequent and severe storms, according to officials. Work could start as early as this year.

The image on the left highlights the floodplain area that will be eliminated as a result of this project, and on the right is a concept rendering of of what sections of the creek could look like when the project is finished.  

The city says much of the creek is underground and the infrastructure that it flows through dates back to the 1880s in some areas. The new creek design will uncover more sections of the creek and improve the quality of the water and the environment.

The project is being coordinated with the upcoming arena and two-way street projects to help create safer pedestrian connections through the area. The city says this is the largest of the 80 awards nationwide, and arena developers also contributed nearly $5.8 million to the project.