Contractors and crews for both the city of Meridian and Lauderdale County are making progress on paving, road striping, bridge work and other infrastructure projects throughout the area.

In Lauderdale County, workers with APAC, an asphalt supply and paving company, have paved Van Zyverden and Buntin Gunn roads and are working in the area around North Lakeland Drive and Old Eighth Street. The company was awarded a $3.7 million paving package in June by the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, which included approximately 17 miles of road.

While APAC works to pave county roads, a separate project is also underway to stripe roads that have already been paved. The Board of Supervisors in October authorized McCraney Striping, which has a term bid with the county for road striping, to tackle the project at a cost of $180,947.

Roads in the striping package include Woods Road, Brown Hooke Road, Fellowship Road, Campground Road and Fred Clayton Road, among others.

Also in the county, work has begun on one of two bridges along Lizelia Road that are set to be taken out and replaced with box culverts. The bridge, which is just north of Briarwood Road, is being paid for with ARPA funds. In the city of Meridian, a project to pave North Hills Street from Highway 19 to Highway 39 is moving forward with Falcon Contracting, which has a term bid for paving with the city, tackling the heavily trafficked road in sections.

Workers on Thursday were milling old asphalt from the road between Poplar Springs and 10th Avenue to prepare for fresh asphalt to be put down. Once complete with the section, the contractor will mill and pave North Hills Street from 10th Avenue to Highway 39.

The paving work is being paid for with a $3.4 million appropriation from the state Legislature.

In addition to paving, several bridge projects are underway in the Queen City. Workers with Joe McGee Construction are almost finished with a bridge replacement along Old Highway 80, Public Works Director David Hodge said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, another bridge replacement, along 34th Street spanning Gallagher Creek, near the Meridian Activity Center, is set to begin. The city was awarded $669,793 through the state’s Emergency Road and Bridge Repair fund in 2022 to help fund the project.

Hodge said Joe McGee Construction, which was awarded the project in June at a cost of $739,614, is mobilizing equipment and manpower to begin relocating utility lines. Residents can expect to see work beginning shortly, he said.

While road and bridge projects make it easier for cars to travel around the city, a project to install sidewalks along 24th Street is aimed at helping pedestrians, mainly students, get to and from school without having to walk in the road.

The city plans to install sidewalks along the north side of 24th Street from 23rd to 14th avenues to make it safer for children walking to and from Magnolia Middle School.

The sidewalk project, which is being paid for with a Transportation Alternatives Program grant, has a time limit of 65 working days to complete, Hodge said Tuesday, and the clock began Nov. 30. Residents will likely see crews and equipment around the site beginning next week.

The city is also moving forward with replacing some of its aged equipment at its freshwater treatment plants. The council on Tuesday awarded a project to replace an aerator at the B Street plant with costs not to exceed $1.1 million.

Freshwater Superintendent Jimmy Eckman said the lifespan of an aerator is roughly 25 years, and the current one has been in service since the 1980’s. It has served the city well, he said, but it needs to be replaced.