The City of Martinsburg is taking steps to extend the life of its infrastructure and reduce ongoing maintenance — starting with its streets.

Martinsburg was awarded a $351,308 Community Development Block Grant to address issues with stormwater drainage and improve street conditions. The affected streets will include North Street, Kellett Street, 1st through 4th streets, Walnut Street, Chestnut Street, Cedar Street, Hickory Street, Washington Street, Jefferson Street and Jackson Street.

“The goal of the whole program is to get water out of the ditches as quickly as possible,” said Bob Cope, City of Martinsburg City Council member. “Currently, we have some places where water collects in the ditches and doesn’t drain properly, and sometimes, out in the road.”

According to Cope, the project will cost $383,308, and Martinsburg will put up the remaining $32,000 in matching cash from its general fund.

“We are extremely grateful for this grant and excited about the opportunities it brings to our community,” said Pat Arens, mayor of Martinsburg, in a news release.

Cochran Engineering of Wentzville is providing engineering services, and the lead grant writer for the project was Devyn Campbell of the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments.

Cindy Hultz, executive director of the Mark Twain Regional Council of Governments, said there were 91 applications submitted for the Community Development Block Grant Program’s fiscal year 2025 competitive cycle. According to a release by the Department of Economic Development, more than $16.7 million was awarded to 43 projects.

“The CDBG Program is an invaluable resource for communities and an important way we help Missourians prosper,” said Michelle Hataway, director of the Department of Economic Development, according to the release. “Each project made possible by CDBG, whether large or small, is increasing capacity for economic growth that changes lives for the better.”

Last July, an unexpected storm dumped more than 6 inches of rain on Martinsburg, causing water to back up into the streets.

“In that one particular night, when it rained so hard so fast, water could not get across town quick enough,” Cope said. “It literally backed up to where, standing on Highway 19, I was standing in 14 inches of water.”

Cope, who is also a volunteer firefighter with the Martinsburg Fire Department, added it took hours for the water to drain. In that time, water and sewage started backing up into basements and flooding homes.

So far, Cope said the city doesn’t have an estimated timeline, and the project will be sent back out for bidding in the coming months. But when work begins, the majority of what residents will see will be ditch reshaping.

“People will be wondering how it’s going to affect them,” he said. “If it happens to be the ditch in front of you, it will affect you, yes, but minimally. There will be a little bit behind the scenes where there will be a few culverts replaced and a little bit of street patching done.”