Work to repair downtown Meridian’s aging drainage system has some property owners hopeful for better things to come.

    “For a lot of us, this is going to increase the value of our property,” Sandy Young, of Young Family Properties LLC, said.    

    The drainage system in downtown Meridian is decades old. In many instances during periods of heavy rain, water backs up and floods the downtown area and in some cases, the bottom floors of some buildings.

    Work has begun on a $3.5-million project partially funded by a Mississippi Hurricane Katrina Supplemental Community Development Block Grant to address the drainage problem.

    Young said many of the property owners in the historic Fifth Street African American Business District where some of the work will be done are working to improve their properties as the city’s project continues.

    “We’re putting in $100,000 in renovations to our property,” Young said. “With a nicer looking area, the rental income is going to increase.”    

    During the project, water and sewer pipes will be replaced from Fifth to Eighth streets and 23rd to 26th Avenues. In addition, improvements will be made to streets and sidewalks and landscaping.

    Young was among 50 business owners who attended a Thursday meeting at Meridian City Hall to listen to a presentation about the project.

    When the Meridian Revitalization Project was announced in mid-December, it was labeled a downtown drainage project to alleviate flooding of the 16-story Threefoot Building.

    Thompson Engineering’s Tim Bryan, the engineer in charge of the project, said at the meeting that the Threefoot Building’s drainage was not the problem.

    “It was the drainage pipes down the street from it that were clogging up after a big rain,” Bryan said during a 30 minute power-point presentation.

    “What this project does is fix the drainage with new water and sewer lines from Fifth Street to Eighth Street and from 23rd to 26th Avenues,” Bryan said. “On Fifth Street we will add a duct bank. We are also installing Silva Cell which will be the first installation of this kind in Mississippi.”

    Silva Cell is a rigid underground framework that supports paving without requiring soil to be compacted. Loose soil provides better drainage and better root conditions for trees to be planted along the streets, Bryan said.

    The landscaping improvements on Fifth Street from 23rd to 26th Avenue will be done by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

    Bryan said improving the subsurface drainage will require major excavations, which will allow the crews to upgrade water and sewer lines. They will then repave the streets and sidewalks and also improve the landscaping.

    The project will operate in three phases. The first phase started in late January but has been hampered by wet weather. Project manager Wanda Lovell from Socrates Garrett Enterprises said her crews have lost five out of 35 work days so far to inclement weather.

    Motorists can expect delays. On Tuesday, the east side of 23rd Avenue and Fifth Street to 22nd Avenue will be closed all day as crews install a new water main valve.

    Bryan said phase one will likely be completed by mid-May.

    Phase two will include work on Sixth Street between 22nd and 23rd avenues. Sixth Street will be closed during this phase, which is expected to be completed by the first week in August.

    The final phase will include work on 22nd Avenue from Fifth to Eighth Streets.  Construction will be limited to half the street at one time, starting at the center line and include all traffic lanes, parking lanes and sidewalks on that side.

    “We will keep one traffic lane open at all times,” Bryan said. “One sidewalk will be closed at a time. The only time you will not have access to your building is when we are pouring contract on that day in front of your building.”

    The owners of Harvest Grill were concern about water shutoffs during while work is under way. Bryan said that the longest a business would not have water is four hours.

    Community Development Director Bunky Partridge said the city will work with all businesses to minimize any potential impacts.

    Partridge said the city will have a plan in place by August to address parking while work is being done on 22nd Avenue.