After several years of flooding, residents north of La Feria will soon get some relief thanks to a Cameron County project.

On Friday, Cameron County Drainage District No. 6 broke ground on the first phase of a project to widen several already-existing agriculture ditches, and create detention ponds to alleviate flooding in the area.

The work will benefit the area off Parker Road in La Feria all the way to the expressway. Officials said the area is low-lying.

“We're going to be diverting this water straight to the Arroyo,” Cameron County Drainage District No. 6 Director Gilbert Galvan said, adding that the project will benefit at least 6,000 people.

The second and third phases of the project will include additional ditch widening and the construction of a large detention pond north of Clark Road.

“The work is going to go faster because there's nothing that is going to slow us down,” Galvan said. “There's no property you have to buy, all of that has been done."

Most of the work will be completed by the La Feria Irrigation District. The total cost of the project is just under $500,000.

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