Portions of 119 streets are slated for upgrades through the city’s $6.9 million plan that will commence later this year.
A vast majority of the list the city council approved earlier this month involves repaving, but a handful of listed projects require only striping or patching.
The council will advertise for bids in May, said City Engineer Kevin Stafford, who also is North Missisippi Manager for the Neel-Schaffer firm.
Once a contractor is selected, he said, work could begin in late summer and finish by spring 2025.
“(Based on the size of the job) they probably won’t finish by the end of the year,” Stafford said. “… From what I’m being told, the contractors are hungry. So what I’m hoping is we get good bids, we turn around and give them a notice to proceed, and we’re ready to go.”
The city will fund the work with three years’ worth of internet use tax collections, which can only be used for roads, bridges and drainage. It will not have to borrow any funds, as it has for past street projects.
Stafford said the list includes roughly $900,000 for projects on “heavily-traveled roads” — including Lehmberg Road, from 350 feet north of Boyle Drive to Eastbrook Court; Gardner Boulevard, from Main Street to Hemlock Street; and two spots on Military Road, from Brickerton to Bluecutt and from Bluecutt to 18th Avenue North (skipping the intersection between).
The remaining $6 million has been divided roughly evenly among the six wards, with councilmen working with Stafford and his team to choose their priorities.
Stafford based the list on last year’s asphalt pricing, which he said seems to be coming down. That could bode well for completing all 119 listed roads.
“Not only am I confident all those roads will get done, there’s a good chance we’ll get to add roads to it,” he said.
And there are plenty more. A deferred list of 57 projects remain, many of which Neel-Schaffer has identified as needing work.
If the city continues to bank internet use tax funds, for which it receives about $2.3 million annually, it can prescribe $4 million to $5 million in upgrades every two years and knock out that deferred list sooner than later.
“That will definitely help them catch up over time without having to go into debt,” he said.
Mayor Keith Gaskin told The Dispatch he would have preferred more money to have targeted areas with the highest need rather than so much be divided evenly by wards.
“The levels of need differ so much between wards,” Gaskin said, adding he hopes the public will continue offering feedback on the planned list.
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens, who represents Ward 2, said he sees Gaskin’s point, but he’s generally happy with the plan in place.
“I think it’s one of the best deals we’ve had in a long time,” Mickens said. “… When you talk about paving streets, everybody wants to get the most they can for their ward. I understand that. At the same time we have to realize where the needs lie. …. We’re a collective body that’s trying to do what’s best for the city. … This is where I’m hoping the council can get to eventually that it’s not about the ward, it’s about the city.
“In the end, it worked out pretty good,” he added.
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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