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AUSTIN (KXAN) – The City of Austin said a road will be closed starting Saturday on a project to reduce the risk of flooding in a northeast Austin neighborhood.

The city said Thursday that workers with the Capital Delivery Services Department will start Phase 1 of construction on the Little Walnut Creek Flood Risk Reduction Project.

Work hours will be from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and the construction of Phase 1 is expected to wrap up in Spring 2024, the city said.

According to the city, Mearns Meadow Boulevard will be closed to through traffic from Rutland Drive to Parkfield Drive during construction.

Detour signage will be posted to guide travelers in the area, the city said.  

During construction, equipment operators will excavate a 20-foot deep trench along Mearns Meadow Boulevard to install 13-foot by 10-foot concrete box culverts, the city said.

According to the city, when the project is done, floodwater will be diverted to these box culverts, which will run under Mearns Meadow Boulevard from Quail Valley Boulevard to the Mearns Meadow Detention Pond in Quail Creek Park. The culvert will be installed in four phases of construction along Mearns Meadow Boulevard.

Breaking construction into different phases will limit the extent of road closures throughout the project, the city said. The impacted segment of Mearns Meadow Boulevard will be repaved and reopened to through traffic when each phase is complete, the city said.  

The city said the anticipated completion of all four construction phases is early 2026.

The Little Walnut Creek Flood Risk Reduction project aims to reduce flooding for homes and roads near Little Walnut Creek, according to the city.

The city’s public works department started the project in the summer of 2021.