(New Buffalo, MI) - Almost constant flooding on Whittaker St. near the beach in New Buffalo should be a thing of the past following a recent construction project.  A 40 foot stretch of the road north of the bridge on Whittaker Steet was reconstructed last week for about $44,000.

City Manager Dave Richards said a low spot where flood water collected is now level.  The road was also slightly tilted to send water during storms toward the lake and into a 30 foot long swale constructed between the sidewalk and Galien River.  Richards said the two to three feet deep swale was also equipped with a pump to discharge water from the man made cavity into the river.  "So far, it’s working well,” he said.

Prior to the reconstruction, that section of Whittaker Street developed numerous pot holes from high water gathering not just during storms.  Water was backing up from the river being swollen and deposited on the street through a storm drain along the curb across from Harbor Pointe condominiums.  Eventually, Richards said the badly deteriorated stretch of Whittaker Street was turned into a gravel surface which was easier to maintain until a solution to the flooding was in place.

The storm drain was filled with concrete during the summer to stop the discharges from the river which has risen from the record high water levels on Lake Michigan.  “I think it was a good deal for a temporary fix that should last several years,” Richards said.