BATON ROUGE - After 59 years, work to clear and snag the Comite River in multiple phases has begun.

Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, Metro Councilmember Aaron Moak and Central Mayor Wade Evans announced Tuesday that the permit to begin cleaning the Comite River was received and work has begun. The project is being funded by the City-Parish with money from the American Rescue Plan Act.

“Even though this was one of the last projects that got started, it will likely be one of the first projects that are finished out of all the different work that’s going on," Moak said.

Thousands of people who reside along the river are breathing a sigh of relief after learning the work to improve drainage has begun. One of those residents is Noel Hunt, whose home flooded in 2016.

"We’re getting it snagged and cleaned and hopefully that’s going to allow more water to flow down into the Amite River," Hunt said.

The river will be cleared of trees and debris in phases. Phase one starts where the Amite and Comite meet at Florida Boulevard, and will go upstream to Central Thruway. The next phase will get started once a permit is approved by the Army Corps of Engineers.