PALM CITY, Fla. — Neighbors have been complaining for years about major flooding in parts of Palm City.
Roads and sidewalks are now being ripped up as Martin County works to fix the issue.
"I'm a fourth generation general contractor," said Ron Skelton.
Skelton has been living in Old Palm City for 31 years. He's seen the growth, and now he has a front row view of more upgrades being made right near his home.
"It's going to be an improvement. We have areas of Old Palm City where water and puddles stand for days," Skelton said.
Neighbors tells WPTV that flooding in Palm City has been a concern for years, and they believe it's only getting worse.
"It goes in people's homes and you see children and adults with water all the way up to their waist," said Sonia Armendariz.
But Martin County is now ripping up roads and installing catch basins as part of an Infrastructure Reinvestment Program to improve drainage.
"We need it just for the flooding in Palm City, but the mess out here on Mapp Road is awful," Armendariz said.
The county said the current drainage system is dated and failed over the years. So crews are replacing old pipes, regrading swales, and resurfacing the road to restore the system.
"You gotta have a little bit of disruption before you can get improvement," Skelton said.
The project started in multiple neighborhoods in early December, and the county said it hopes to have the drainage upgrades completed by July of 2021.
