Residents of a Hernando County area where flooding caused serious issues following Hurricane Irma are placing their hopes for avoiding those problems in the future in a new bill filed by lawmakers in Tallahassee this week.
- Ridge Manor residents trapped by flooding in Sept. 2017
- Only one road into and out of neighborhood
- Bill calls for $1.3 million to build access road, retention pond
Cyril Drive in the Ridge Manor area flooded after Hurricane Irma in September 2017, trapping many residents.
Residents there said one of the most difficult parts of getting out during the flooding was that there was only one road in and out.
During the flooding in September, Crystal Rice said neighbors with an airboat helped her and her family get to dry land, but their only path to safety was the bike trail nearby.
"Prior to the flooding, my husband had left one of the cars on the other side of the bike trail. Thank God for that because once we got to the bike trail we were able to get in the car and go we had to stay in a hotel for two weeks," Rice explained.
"You think about your kids and you think about neighbors who are on medication or need a delivery who don't have transportation -- they can't get that because there is only one way in, and the way in is flooded with six or seven feet of water," she added.
The bill filed in Tallahassee could change that. Hernando County’s government is asking the state for $1.3 million to build a bypass road to make it easier for people to get to and from their homes and give emergency responders better access to the area.
Another $700,000 in local funds have also been set aside for the project.
It's something Rice said she'd like to see happen.
"Having children and education emergency all that stuff it really would make me feel better," Rice explained.
But others who have lived on Cyril Drive for decades aren't so sure a new road is needed.
"I've been here since '86 -- same road, same situation, no different. It's the price you pay living on the river," Fred Repeta said.
If approved, the funds would be available beginning July 1. There is also a component in that bill to build a two-acre storm water retention pond in the area.