Rep. Sorensen Pledges $1.6 Million For Uptown Normal Flood Relief

U.S. Rep. Eric Sorensen announced plans to secure an additional $1.6 million in federal funding for flood mitigation efforts in Uptown Normal on Monday afternoon. The money would help pay for storm sewer and drain upgrades to address the overwhelmed drainage system in the central business district.

Sorensen visited Normal City Hall during his visit to Bloomington-Normal. The Democratic representative previously secured $2 million for the Locust/Colton sewer separation project in Bloomington and another $1.55 million for the Town of Normal to address the stressed system running through Uptown. The new $1.6 million federal grant would be combined with the existing $2 million funding to cover well over half the total $4.5 million projected cost.

"This is about solving a real problem," said Sorensen during the news conference. "We're seeing more ferocious thunderstorms. They are happening with greater frequency, and this is going to cost us something down the line."

The project aims to help students get to class and workers get to their jobs without disruption from flooding. It would also help small businesses stay open during severe weather events. Flooding in Uptown Normal has affected the Hyatt and Marriott hotels and Watterson Towers, an Illinois State University dormitory housing more than 2,000 students.

"We have to redo this system," said Normal Mayor Chris Koos.

The central business district's current design was conceived close to three decades ago. Once in a millennium flooding in June 2021 pushed officials to get serious about the drainage infrastructure. Severe storms that year caused significant flooding throughout the area.

The proposed project includes new relief storm sewers installed along a 250-foot stretch of West Beaufort Street west of Broadway. The project also includes sewer line running 2,100 feet south underneath Broadway. The project is still in the design and engineering phase.

Engineering and Public Works director Ryan Otto said the design includes close consideration of the downstream effects of increased sewer capacity throughout the rest of the system. The project will also account for the future below-grade Uptown Underpass, which borders the flood zones most impacted during the 2021 storms and will include its own storm drains.

"We're working right now to make sure that we don't adversely impact downstream areas with our additional capacity that we are installing," said Otto. "Everything's tied together. It's all one large drainage area that we are working with, and we want to make sure that we are taking care of all the various areas."

With this new federal grant, Koos said the town is prepared to pick up the rest of the tab and move the project into an implementation phase. The grant doesn't mean this is a done deal. Sorensen said they will continue to work in Congress to ensure the funding goes through early next year.

Sorensen recently introduced new legislation which aims to establish a National Weather Safety Board. The proposal suggests installing a 10-member panel to investigate weather-related disasters in coordination with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, the National Weather Service, FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Communications Commission. NBC News reported this week that storm prediction is becoming less reliable at the National Weather Service due to staffing issues.

The project cost will be covered by the $1.6 million federal grant plus local funding from the Town of Normal. The total projected cost for the project is $4.5 million.