Thomas Howard / The Meridian StarMeridian Public Works employees on Tuesday make progress on a sidewalk project on 7th Street.

Multiple infrastructure projects throughout the City of Meridian are moving forward as contractors and in-house crews are hard at work.

In a council meeting Tuesday, Public Works Assistant Director Mike Van Zandt gave council members an update on the progress being made.

“We’ll give you all updates on the projects we’ve got going on,” he said. “We’ve got a significant number.”

Sidewalk Upgrades

First, Van Zandt said, sidewalk upgrades around city hall are moving forward with public works crews working on the north side of 7th Street. In the next few weeks, he said, the north side of the street will be finished and crews will move to the south side.

The total project was estimated to cost about $150,000, Van Zandt said, and about half that has been spent so far.

Highway 80 Bridge

A bridge replacement project along Highway 80 is moving forward as the city works to finalize its contract with Joe McGee Construction. In its October 18 meeting, the city council awarded the project to the Lake, Mississippi contractor at a cost of $3,359,247.

Van Zandt said the bridge project is being funded through the state Emergency Road and Bridge Program.

54-inch Sewer Line

Van Zandt said the city was waiting to get documents back from Hemphill Construction, which was awarded a $3.4 million contract to replace a 54-inch in diameter sewer pipe that runs south of I-20 and east of 49th Avenue.

Medical District Sewer Line

Hemphill Construction is also moving forward with a project to repair and replace stormwater and sewer infrastructure in the area around Anderson and Ochsner Rush hospitals. Public Works Director David Hodge previously told the council repairs were needed before the city moved forward with plans to pave those roads.

Van Zandt told the council the work was being included as the first task order under a $9.7 million term bid Hemphill was awarded for sewer and stormwater repairs.

“That first portion will just replace sewer and perhaps water lines at some point in time in the medical district,” he said.

Highway 80 Trunk Line Phase 2

In a third project with the city, Hemphill Construction is making headway on the second phase of the Highway 80 Trunk Line Rehabilitation, which is part of the city’s EPA consent decree. The project is set to cost just over $1 million.

22nd Avenue

Two projects are ongoing along 22nd Avenue, Van Zandt said. Work on the corner of 22nd Avenue and 1st Street, he said, is set to be completed in the next week or so.

“We predict that will be completed in the next week or so, and the overpass will be reopened shortly thereafter,” he said.

On the other side of the bridge, crews are hard at work on a sewer line replacement along B Street. The project was added on to the Sela Ward Parkway revitalization project at a cost of about $400,000.

Although the road was supposed to reopen Wednesday, the City of Meridian announced Monday the closure of Sela Ward Parkway would likely last another week as weather delays hampered progress on the sewer line project.

24th Street Sidewalks

A project to install sidewalks along 24th street to help children walk safely to school is also making progress, Van Zandt said.

The sidewalk project being financed through a $788,671 grant from the Federal Transportation Alternative Program, which will cover 80% of the project. The city will be required to put in a 20% match.

Van Zandt estimated the project would likely go out for bid in April 2023.