Construction crews are working on a long-awaited drainage project in Alton.

City leaders said the $8.5 million project will prevent future flooding for nearly 600 homes near Madison Street.

One resident in the area said the damage the project is trying to prevent has already been done.

“It gets pretty flooded in this area, sometimes it goes up to our knees,” Martin Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said during heavy storms, water doesn't stay outside, and it sticks around.

“We got like 12 inches inside the house,” Rodriguez said. “They send trucks to get the water out, but it takes a long time. We stay stuck in here for about a week before the water can go down and before we can get in our cars and drive out."

Planning for the project began in 2018. It was approved in 2020, and design work started in 2021 with construction starting in mid-December 2025.

As part of the project, drainage pipes are being installed in the area.

“When we get storms, that water will be conveyed through pipes through the streets we're standing on, and it’ll go to one of our parks that has the capacity to hold a lot of water,” Alton City Manager Jeff Underwood said.

Underwood said the project was supposed to start in August 2025, but permit delays pushed back the start of the project.

Crews have already installed about 2,000 feet of pipe. Once completed, the project will have 7,500 feet of pipes.

The project is expected to be completed in 2027.

“There are gonna be some inconveniences, we know that and we apologize for that. In the end this is a good project for the entire area so we appreciate the patience,” Underwood said.

For Rodriguez, patience is hard to come by after years of flooding.

“We're frustrated… and we still keep seeing the same thing,” Rodriguez said. “If it rains, I don’t know what's going to happen.”

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