Residents traveling along North Hills Street will encounter fewer potholes after the City of Meridian was appropriated $3.4 million by the state Legislature to address the city’s northern artery.

The city’s windfall came as part of an all-night effort by the Legislature to finalize the state’s $7.6 billion budget before the 2023 legislative session was set to end.

In a prepared statement, Mayor Jimmie Smith said the city was grateful to Meridian’s representatives for their efforts to help the Queen City.

“We want to thank our local and state legislatures for the appropriations the City of Meridian received this legislative session,” he said. “We appreciate their hard efforts to facilitate this endeavor.”

Rehabilitating North Hills Street is one of the city’s most ambitious projects, with a full overhaul of the thoroughfare estimated to cost about $28 million.

In December 2022, the City Council approved a contract with Neel-Schaffer Engineering to assist the city in applying for a federal Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, grant, through the U.S. Department of Transportation to fund the design portion of the project. The city previously applied for the grant in February 2022 but was not selected.

Neel-Schaffer has previously helped the City of Jackson apply for and receive a $19 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grant. The TIGER grant program was reorganized under the federal transportation department into what is now the RAISE grant.

Public Works Director David Hodge previously explained to the City Council the RAISE grant — which would be about $3 million — would pay for the design and engineering for the North Hills project. Having the plans complete will put the city in a much better place to apply for a second, larger RAISE grant and grants from other programs that can be used in the construction process, he said.

Other funding

While the city has been planning infrastructure improvements, it has also been looking at ways to bring outside funding into the community to reduce the cost to taxpayers. Working with the city’s state and federal delegation, engineering firms and consultants on ongoing projects, the city has identified more than $20 million in outside funds.

In addition to the RAISE grant and the state Legislature’s appropriation, the city has:

• applied for a $750,000 Community Development Block Grant for sewer work;

• accepted a $231,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service to address erosion;

• received an $8.9 million dollar-for-dollar match from the state for the city’s allotment of American Rescue Plan Act funds; and

• been awarded $10 million under the federal Water Resources Development Act for environmental infrastructure.