Alley project moves forward with design underway

Published 11:05 am Wednesday, June 12, 2024

A project to transform a dirty, damp alley in downtown Meridian into a pedestrian walkway and event space is in the design phase as underground infrastructure complicates the process.

Addressing the City Council Tuesday, Meridian Main Street Director Matt Schanrock said the goal is to finish the design portion of the project by the end of July and move forward quickly with getting the project scheduled. A portion of the funding for the project was awarded from federal American Rescue Plan Act money, he said, which must be allocated by the end of the year and spent by December 2026.

The alley project, which is intended for the alley between 22nd and 21st avenues between Weidmann’s Restaurant and the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation, has been in the works for several years but just recently gained enough traction, and funding, to move forward. The project will include cleaning up the alley, installing a trash compactor to limit the footprint of garbage generated by nearby businesses, correcting drainage issues and resurfacing the alley to fix potholes and low-lying areas.

Liz Dudley with Engineering Plus, which is helping Schanrock with the project, said one of the things on the list is to install a storm drainage system to channel water away. Currently, she said, downspouts from nearby buildings dump water into the alley, but there is no drainage system in place to take the water from there. With potholes and sunken places, that results in areas of standing water, which need to be addressed.

The current plan is to install an underground drainage pipe that connects to the downspouts from the buildings and transports stormwater away without it ever touching the alley itself, Dudley said.

Further complicating the project is the amount of utilities running underground through the alleyway, Dudley said. The area is highly congested and navigating through the maze of electric, water, sewer, gas and cable lines will take additional care.

While the alley is dug up, Dudley said she also wants to swap the current 2-inch water line to a 6-inch line, which will provide additional capacity for nearby businesses, and double check the sewer pipes and manholes to make sure there are no leaks. Much of the city’s underground infrastructure is older, she said, and addressing problems now will save time and headache later.

“We talk about our historic buildings, but people don’t think about the historic infrastructure that goes along with those buildings,” she said.

As for resurfacing the alley, Dudley said she suggests going with a combination of concrete and pavers. Just paving over the alley won’t work, she said, as the additional asphalt would put the alley higher than entrances to nearby businesses. In the event of rain, the water would be directed into the businesses, which is not good.

Schanrock said Main Street will likely need the help of Meridian’s Public Works Department to assist with the work to the city utilities, but the full extent of the assistance needed isn’t yet clear. Until the alley is dug up, it is difficult to estimate the scope of the project, he said.

Assistant Public Works Director Mike Van Zandt said his department has a fairly good idea of the utilities it has in the area but isn’t sure what condition they are in.

Councilman George Thomas said the project has his support as long as it is done the right way. Only fixing part of the issue or doing a portion of the project won’t suffice, he said.

“The alley needs fixing,” he said. “It stinks and it’s dirty and it needs fixing.”

Councilwoman Ty Bell Lindsey said she too supports the project and wants to tour the alley with Schanrock and others involved in the project to get a better understanding of what is planned. Having seen other alley projects in other cities, she said she can see the benefit it will bring to Meridian.

The project has also garnered support on the state level with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann mentioning the project during a stop Monday in Meridian. Commenting on Meridian’s thriving arts and culture scene, Hosemann pointed to the alley project as a positive step in attracting young people to the area.

“You need to have a social place where young people can go and go to dinner and go out and have the cultural part of a community that keeps you bounded together, I guess, and reaches across a lot of political grounds to having a place that you can come and raise your family,” he said. “I think that’s really important.”