With little fanfare, the Brown Street bridge was completed and reopened to traffic last week. Attention now turns to the neighboring Charlotte Street bridge.

The bridge is significant because of regular flooding problems in the Jack’s Creek basin, an area where the City of Washington is spending nearly $4 million to improve stormwater runoff. Residents had the opportunity to weigh in on the future of the Charlotte Street bridge at a public hearing Monday night.

At a previous City Council meeting, public-works director Allen Lewis advised the council that the three 60-inch-diameter culverts (corrugated metal pipes) installed under the Charlotte Street bridge years ago cannot handle the increased stormwater runoff in Washington. Current options include replacing the round culverts with four 8-foot-by-8-foot box culverts or removing the bridge completely.

Some on the council are not convinced that there is a problem.

“Wouldn’t it be just as reasonable while Charlotte Street is still a viable bridge to continue using it as is and address either the replacement of Charlotte Street or the taking out of Charlotte Street when it’s no longer a functioning bridge?” Mayor Archie Jennings asked Lewis in January. “In other words, should we be in a big hurry to tear out a bridge that’s still working?”

“You’re one significant storm away from having flooding issues because of the Charlotte Street culverts being undersized,” Lewis replied.

With the new and improved Brown Street bridge one block over, Charlotte Street residents who live near Jack’s Creek are less concerned about the bridge and more concerned about high tide in their homes.

“I think they should use whatever means necessary to fix it so it stops flooding,” one resident told the WDN. “The bridge is inadequate and there is not enough flow. Go the cheapest route so it flows to get the water out of here. Every time we get a rainstorm, the street floods. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

“We want the council to take serious consideration of our concerns and recognize there are some serious flooding issues within Jack’s Creek basin,” another said. “We ask them to remedy the drainage issues and if that includes the removal of Charlotte Street (bridge), so be it.”

Those who live in flood-prone areas know that it’s easy to talk about fixing the problem while standing in knee-high water. The hard part is taking action to resolve the problem. With hurricane season approaching June 1, now is the time to settle this issue once and for all.