Concerned by sea level rise, Tarpon Springs looks to fix area plagued by tidal flooding
The city wants public input on its plan to fix the problematic intersection during a Wednesday night meeting
As the threat of sea-level rise makes the threat more concerning, the city [of Tarpon Springs] is looking for ways to mitigate localized flooding.
“[Tarpon Springs] is uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of sea-level rise and coastal storm events and future planning efforts should seek to identify these vulnerabilities and provide mitigating policy direction,” city staff wrote in a recent report.
In the first phase of a new project, the city will take one step toward that goal. It wishes to raise and rebuild the intersection of Spring Blvd. and MLK Dr. to make traffic flow better and the flooding less severe.
"Either we do a typical four-way stop or a roundabout," said the Tarpon Springs Project Administration Director, Bob Robertson.
In a second phase, it wants to look broader at other flood-prone spots on the bayou to see how it can help improve those spots too.
"One way would be raising the roadway. Another would be installing a concrete wall, a vertical wall, and a third would be an earth and berm type solution," said Robertson.