East St. Louis residents struggling with consistent flooding
EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – Intense rainfall Sunday night led to flooding in East St. Louis, which has been a problem for decades, according to residents.
Just off of Interstate 255 at State Street, flash flooding trapped a vehicle in rising waters.
“I’ve been living here for 52 years and its been flooding for 40 years,” Henry Luster, owner of Luster’s Barber Shop and Beauty Salon, said.
Luster owns the barber shop and salon along with other properties near State Street, saying this has been a constant inconvenience for his tenants and customers.
“I’ve seen that water run around my house,” Luster said.
Owner Sylvester “Sunshine” Lee of the Cultural Arts Center stated that the flooding has been a major problem for the city.
“The flooding has always caused a major problem here. Especially for our neighbors across the street, who just go their driveways paved…water is all up under the garage,” Lee said.
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IDOT manages Exit 19, where the flooding occurred. FOX 2 reached out to the City of East St. Louis, which sent the following response:
“The water levels were monitored and the City of East St. Louis Public Works Department safely reopened the street yesterday evening. There are currently no issues with water in that area and the roadway is back open to motorists,” Timothy D. Lockett Sr., director of public works, said.
Several citizens have complained to the city before.
“We always go down there and make our complaints known. Me and Mr. Luster, the lady across the street there. We need to do something about this flooding. Once before, they talked about the pump was broken down, needs to be fixed,” Lee said.
The Illinois Department of Transportation Public Information Officer responded to the flash flooding inquiry, stating, “The exit reopened at 3 p.m.” No further comments were provided regarding prevention measures.
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