A brush helps lift small debris left behind by the milling machine as crews with Falcon Contracting work to repave a section of North Hills Street between State Boulevard and King Road.

A project to repave North Hills Street is moving forward as workers on Wednesday were out milling up old asphalt in preparation for new pavement.

Falcon Contracting, which the city has previously awarded a term bid for paving, has finished up the first two sections of the project covering the road from Highway 19 to State Boulevard, Assistant Public Works Director Mike Van Zandt told Meridian City Council members at a work session earlier this week. The third segment, which covers the section of road stretching from State Boulevard to King Road, is well underway.

Additional segments planned to be completed over the next several weeks include King Road to 35th Avenue, 35th Avenue to Poplar Springs Drive, Poplar Springs Drive to 10th Avenue and 10th Avenue to Highway 39.

In total, the paving project stretches for more than six miles and will resurface North Hills Street from Highway 19 to Highway 39. The work is estimated to take four to five weeks to complete.

Funding for the project was secured as an earmark in an annual appropriations bill passed by the state legislature earlier this year. The city was given $3.4 million to complete the paving work.

The state funding is separate from a different $3.5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant the city was awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation. That funding will be used to complete the planning and design phase of a greater North Hills Street improvement project.

North Hills Street is highly traveled, with Public Works Director David Hodge estimating approximately 18,000 vehicles taking the route each day. The road, however, was not designed for that volume of traffic.

The city plans to use the RAISE grant to develop a greater plan to add turning lanes, traffic signals, wider lanes and other improvements to both improve traffic flow and increase safety for the drivers who travel along the road each day.

With the design completed, the city will then look toward additional grants and other funding opportunities to cover the cost of the project. Rough estimates put the cost at around $28 million.