Little late?

Haltom City and the Corp of Engineers is finally getting a move on fixing Little Fossil Creek.  A project that dates WAY back. We're wondering how long it will take for them to fix Big Fossil Creek?  The monster that runs through many cities.

WHY was Haltom City left holding the bag on millions and WHERE did they "find" the money?  Is this the same place their U.S. Congresswoman "found" money for her son's bridge projects?

Read about the creek and the rising cost in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Construction of the $12 million first phase, which began last year, is expected to be completed in December, according to the Corps of Engineers. On the drawing board since 1994, the project will widen the channel to an average of 75 feet; beef up the sides with concrete, rocks, interlocking blocks and grass to prevent erosion; create a pool downstream from the Trinity Railway Express tracks with a small dam; and add a hike-and-bike trail along the entire project.

Little Fossil flooding traditionally was a greater threat to commercial properties than residential, Muir said. In the review plan for Little Fossil Creek Flood Control Project, the Corps of Engineers said a 1981 flood caused about $10 million in damage. 

The project will cost the city an estimated $12 million or more. The federal government is covering only about $7 million of the project’s first-phase cost, leaving Haltom City holding the bag for more than $5 million, and for the entire cost of phase two.

“We’re anticipating another 6 to 7 million dollars,” Muir said.

Haltom City voters approved a $4 million bond election in 2001 for the project. The rest of the funding has come from certificates of obligation, which do not require voter approval, Muir said. “The option was to say forget it, or grin and bear it and find the money,” he said. “So we found the money.”