Tavares in final stages of stormwater improvement plan

TAVARES — Construction of Tavares’ Ruby Street Stormwater Improvement and Beautification Plan is in its final stages, with all its components expected to be finished in about two months.

That includes the transformation of 8-acres in downtown Tavares into a passive park and nature preserve complete with wooden bridges to walk along and lush landscaping atop man-made ponds designed to treat stormwater runoff before discharging it into Lake Dora.

The $5.6 million project also encompasses underground piping, drainage upgrades and a Miami curb and gutter system on Ruby Street that will not only serve to collect stormwater from the city’s roads and transport it to the ponds but solve flooding issues the downtown area has been experiencing for years.

There are also aesthetic changes being made along Ruby Street leading to the ponds by way of decorative red and amber pavers in a herringbone pattern that are being used to hide the stormwater collection system.

The bricks will be completely laid in the next few weeks.