Meridian Public Works Director Hugh Smith delivered Tuesday morning a long-awaited paving proposal for city roads during a work session at city hall.

    The plan calls for $7.5 million in road work to be done in phases rather than all at once. Smith said the work could be funded through a city bond issue.

    Among other things, the plan calls for $1 million to be spent on equipment; $500,000 on materials, primarily asphalt, that would last three years; and $5 million on contracted work for major roads like Eighth Street or North Hills Street.

    Smith said the city’s investment in equipment and materials would allow his department to offer continued service on the city’s streets, while contractors handled the larger products.

    Smith said the order the streets would be worked on would be determined by using a formula to determine street conditions called the percent condition index (PCI) and not what ward they belong in.

    “I loved it,” Mayor Percy Bland said of the proposal. “Our approach is to take politics out of the equation on what roads need paving the most. This will allow us to prioritize which roads need repair through a scientific method. I think people will soon see the significant investments we are about to make in improving the city’s streets.”

    Smith said he took the advice of Bland and the council on how he should put together the plan’s proposal.

    “I was instructed by the mayor and the council to look and see what we could do to improve the condition of the city’s streets,” Smith said. “The mayor was very adamant about being proactive. This plan is what I would call a proactive plan for achieving the goal of improving the city’s streets.”    

    Smith said by contracting the larger, higher access roads out, it would help keep Meridian’s busiest streets properly maintained.

    “These would be our main thoroughfares like Eighth Street, like a North Hills Street, 29th Avenue or 22nd Avenue,” Smith said. “These are our main corridors that are used the most by the public wherever they live in Meridian. They make up about 20 percent of the roads. We can get a better price by contracting them out and then for the other 80 percent, those will be done by Public Works. ”    

    Council president Randy Hammon liked the proposal.    

    “The plan for the road pavement plan was actually a plan,” Hammon said. “This is what we’ve been asking for. As a council, we wanted a plan that we can have an investment where the money just doesn’t just go away. Remember, four years ago, they did a road pavement plan and they came in and did some roads and now it’s gone. Now, look where we are.”

    The plan will need council approval before work can begin.    

    “It was a proposal and we are entering the budgeting process,” Smith said. “It will depend on the council whether it moves forward with the proposal, or, some part of the proposal. Again, it was just a presentation. None of this has been approved. None of this has a funding source, but if one is found, it would likely be a bond.”