ABC-7 Listens: TXDOT, Walmart clearing clogged culverts

ABC-7 looks into what’s being done to clear a series of drains and culverts in Northeast El Paso during the Borderland’s monsoon season.

It was prompted by an ABC-7 viewer’s concerns about the large drainage ditches near Gateway North Boulevard and Transmountain Road. The canals are alongside the gateway and run along the south end of a Walmart Supercenter.

Photos provided by Lori Lopez showing wide shots and close-ups of culverts in the ditch that are clogged with rocks and dirt. Lopez said she was especially concerned because this ditch is where a woman drowned during a storm.

ABC-7 reported in April 2014 that Amber LaStrega, 48, was swept into the canal during a severe hailstorm. LaStrega was homeless. Lopez said in her message, “Where is the water going to go if this is not fixed?”

Blanca Del Valle, the spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Transportation office in El Paso, confirmed the clearing project is being handled by TxDOT and Walmart.

Del Valle said TxDOT is only responsible for five of the culverts in that area and that the agency had asked the retailer to clear the culverts on its property.

Walmart has hired a contractor to handle the job. ABC-7 found crews on site clearing out the canal along Gateway North on Monday. ABC-7 contacted the contractor to find out when crews started work. Matt Jackson with Retention Pond Services, Inc., based in North Carolina, declined to comment, and only said that his crews will be finished by Thursday.

Del Valle said once Walmart’s culverts are cleared, TxDOT will begin work on its area of responsibility.