Pineville council approves $11.2 million Huffman Creek pump station after state and city contributions

Pineville’s City Council voted to award a contract for a long-planned drainage pump station on Huffman Creek, approving a contract price of $11,200,000 after a redesign and two rounds of bidding.

An agency official told the council the project is the culmination of roughly six years of effort to secure funding, design and permits. “When we received bids, this is the second time we bid the project,” the official said, noting that inflation and construction costs pushed the price up by about $1 million even after redesign. The official said the new pump station will drain roughly 250 acres of downtown Pineville and estimated construction could take about two years.

The official said the city sought additional funding from the state and, through the legislative delegation, obtained $3,800,000 in supplemental state support. The city will contribute $300,000 toward the cost. “We told them we had no other choice, and so they found the money,” the official said. The council approved the contract and moved forward with the project.

Mayor Joe Bishop thanked staff and local advocates for securing the funds and said the work should alleviate recurring downtown flooding when severe storms occur. No specific contractor name was recorded in the discussion; council members said the project had been rebid to obtain competitive bids and that the city had tightened designs to reduce costs where feasible.

The council’s action authorizes the city to proceed with the contract award and with project implementation steps; officials said timing will depend on permitting and weather during construction.

The council approved the award by voice vote.