ADDIS -- Cleanup continued Friday in parts of West Baton Rouge Parish after homes and businesses flooded during Thursday's downpour.

One fitness center on La. Hwy. 1 had water lines on the walls showing that several inches of water had gotten inside. On Friday afternoon, staff was still mopping up puddles.

The gym is near Chris Road, which saw significant flooding on Thursday.

The highway, in a sense, acts as a barrier between two lower-lying grassy areas.

"You have water that actually builds up, especially in these rain events like this and the reason being is because it has to get through LA-1. In Addis and these areas, it has to get through what we call the first street," said Addis Mayor David Toups.

Once the culverts along Highway 1 fill up, residents tell WBRZ that the water tends to spill into the neighborhood because it can't cross the ridge that is the main road.

A resident at apartments on Chris Road that flooded Thursday said it happens every few years.

Parish President Jason Manola said the parish is working to improve drainage.

"We have made some improvements throughout the years there where we have put some additional culverts underneath LA-1 to help alleviate the water. The problem is that in a flash flood event like this, it's just getting to the first drainage culvert infrastructure that you have," he said.

The area doesn't have pumps to assist in clearing the water, Manola said.

"We're, I guess, blessed enough in a certain way that most of all of our water flows south, but also we have the Mississippi River, so it's flowing from east to west," he said.

Toups said several residents had to evacuate their homes briefly Thursday because of the flooding.

"We work with the Red Cross, so during the event, we set up the Red Cross. Before Red Cross came in, we did open up our public facilities," he said.

West Baton Rouge officials praised the work of their drainage system. However, voters in West Baton Rouge rejected a tax renewal last month that provides nearly$6 million six million dollars a year for drainage operations and construction.

Officials said the tax renewal will be on the ballot again in November.