Meridian and state officials gathered near the intersection of Poplar Springs Drive and North Hills Street on Thursday to cut the ribbon on the recently completed North Hills paving project.

The $3.4 million project involved the removal of old pavement and installation of fresh asphalt from Highway 19 to Highway 39 and was funded through an appropriation from the state Legislature.

“We’re very thankful for the teamwork from the state delegation that made this happen as far as the funding goes,” Public Works Director David Hodge said.

North Hills Street sees approximately 18,000 vehicles a day, making it one of the most heavily trafficked roads in town. Through the resurfacing project, Hodge said, the city was able to fix potholes and address other issues, making the road both more comfortable to drive down and safer to travel.

“North Hills is the highest volume traffic wise in the city,” he said.

Mississippi Power’s Chris Phillips, who represented the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation at the ribbon cutting, said the paving project will also benefit businesses as North Hills Street plays a vital role connecting businesses to their customers.

“This project, this corridor connects many different areas of town, and it’s going to provide economic vitality for businesses here for many, many years to come,” he said. “So thank you all for having the vision to make this improvement and congratulations to the city.”

North Hills Street was one of three priority paving projects outlined by Mayor Jimmie Smith when he took office in July 2021 and the last to be completed. The city in 2022 resurfaced Eighth Street and paving work in the medical district was completed earlier this year.

Although the paving project is complete, work on North Hills Street is not yet over. The city in June was awarded a $3.5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to cover planning and design for a larger overhaul of the thoroughfare.

Hodge previously explained that parts of North Hills Street were not designed to accommodate the high traffic volume the road now sees. The RAISE grant will be used to design turn lanes, reconfigure intersections, widen the road and other upgrades.

Once the design portion of the project is complete, the city plans to seek an additional RAISE grant or other funding to help cover the estimated $28 million needed to make the changes.