One contractor is tying up loose ends on the first phase of improvements to neighborhood streets in Jackson, while another one is starting on the second and third phases of the project.
The work includes resurfacing the roadways and replacing curbs and gutters as needed on streets that some neighborhood associations and homeowner groups suggested.
In the first phase of the project, work remains to be completed in northeast Jackson in Belhaven, Belhaven Heights, Fondren and Woodland Hills and in other areas of Jackson, said Pete Perry, a member of the One Percent Infrastructure Oversight Tax Commission that is funding the project.
Hawthorn Drive and Avondale Drive were added to the first phase and the two streets in process, Perry said. The cross sections of Pinehurst Street in Belhaven remain to be resurfaced, he said.
Some issues arose in the first phase, such as a sinkhole on Quinn Street and a storm sewer on Pinehurst Street that needed to be repaired before the road could be resurfaced.
Manhole covers need to be raised in many areas included in the project, Perry said. “Some are OK, but a bunch of the manhole covers need to be leveled.”
Many streets in northeast Jackson are included in the third phase, including some in LOHO, Petit Bois, Heatherwood, Northpointe, the neighborhoods between Pear Orchard Road and Ridgewood Road, and in the area around McWillie Elementary School, according to Perry.
The commission plans to continue funding improvements to neighborhood streets.
The commission approved using funds to hire a consulting engineer, who will put together a bid package and estimates for the next phase of the work. The Jackson City Council must approve that.
The neighborhood streets project dates to 2021 when the commission asked homeowner associations to submit the names of streets in their neighborhoods that they would like resurfaced.
The actual work on the neighborhood streets being funded by the commission began at the end of October 2023.
The streets in Fondren, which is just one section of the city included, to be resurfaced included:
- Taylor Street from State Street to the dead end (Oxford Avenue to Downing Street omitted)
- Lorenz Boulevard from West Street to State Street
- Council Circle from State Street to State Street
- Redwing Avenue from Council Circle to Council Circle
- Eagle Avenue from Council Circle to the dead end
- Glenway Drive from Old Canton Road to Woodland Circle
- Ridge Drive from Woodland Circle to Wood Dale Drive
-Woodland Circle from Glenway Drive to Glenway Drive
- Woodland Drive from Glenway Drive to Woodland Circle.
In Belhaven and Belhaven Heights, the streets to be paved are:
- Peachtree Street from Poplar Boulevard to Woodrow Wison Avenue
- Myrtle Street from Laurel Street to Riverside Drive
- Bellevue Place from State Street to Monroe Street
- Moody Street from Madison Street to Greymont Street
- Whitworth Street from Bellevue Place to Manship Street
- Quinn Street from Moody Street to Poplar Boulevard
A change order added 10 more streets to the project, including these in Belhaven: Pinehurst Street from State Street to the dead end; Poplar Boulevard from State Street to the dead end; Manship Street from State Street to Monroe Street; St. Ann Street from Riverside Drive to the dead end, and St. Mary Street from Poplar Boulevard to Laurel Street; and these in Fondren: Avondale Street from Old Canton Road to Hawthorn Drive and Hawthorn Drive from Old Canton Road to Avondale Street.
The change order also added 345 calendar days to the contract and stipulated curb and gutter work as needed on the streets that are improved. The curb and gutter work is needed to restore drainage and improve the overall finished quality of the resurfaced streets.
Outside the neighborhood streets project, the commission voted to use $300,000 to resurface about two miles of streets in the Belhaven Business District, which is off High Street and includes about 60 businesses such as Paul Moak Subaru, several motels and an assortment of others.
“I think the streets are bad,” Perry said. “We paved Larson Street in 2015 and will not redo that part.”
Perry said the streets in the area are riddled with potholes and need to be improved.
The city council must approve the project for it to move forward.
The city collects about $1.1 million to $1.2 million every month from 1 percent of sales tax. That does not include sales tax related to hotels, bars or restaurants in the city. Jackson voters approved the sales tax on Jan. 14, 2014.
