Meridian residents don’t have to look hard to see orange cones and men working as numerous projects are ongoing throughout the city.

In a meeting Tuesday, the City Council awarded two long-awaited projects at the city’s South Wastewater Plant for upgrades and repairs to the facility.

Public Works Director David Hodge said a $5,664,725 bid from Hemphill Construction came in as the lowest and best bid for improvements to the plant itself. Parts of the plant were built in the 1950s, he said, and need to be upgraded.

Several clarifiers and the plant need to be replaced, as well as rakes, screens and other mechanical pieces that are just worn out, Hodge said. The repairs and upgrades are needed to make sure the plant continues to operate and treat the city’s wastewater properly.

“All of that adds up,” he said.

The second project, which was awarded to Synagro at a cost of $3,150,000, will remove sludge from the equalization basins at the treatment plant. Hodge said the basins are used to handle overflow during rain events, when the plant is receiving more wastewater than it can properly treat. Over time, he said, solids in the wastewater settle to the bottom forming a sludge that needs to be cleaned out.

“We’re going to dredge the sludge out of there,” he said.

Both projects are being paid for from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds. The city received about $8.9 million, which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the state, for at total of about $18 million that can be used on water and sewer projects. While those two projects get off the ground, numerous road paving, bridge replacement and sewer repair projects are underway. Mayor Jimmie Smith said he was excited to see the amount of work going on in the city and looked forward to seeing even more projects begin.

“I think that we’re doing a lot better than we have been, and I think we can do a lot better in the future,” he said.

Some ongoing projects include:

Highway 80 Bridge

A bridge replacement project on Old Highway 80 is nearing completion, Hodge said Thursday. Some work is still needed on the bridge decking, but the project is about 70% to 75% complete, he said.

“All the beams and the pilings are in there the last time I was out there, last week,” he said. “The deck is one of the few things that needs to be put on. The abutments are in place, so that’s exciting.”

24th Street Sidewalk

A project to build a sidewalk along 24th Street has been in the works for several years, with the city receiving a Transportation Alternative Program grant to pay for the work. The sidewalk is intended to improve safety for children walking to and from Magnolia Middle School.

Hodge said the city has received bids on the work from contractors and plans to present the lowest and best bid to the City Council for approval at its next meeting. If all goes to plan, he said, work should begin shortly thereafter.

34th Street Bridge

Work is expected to begin shortly to replace a bridge on 34th Street spanning Gallagher Creek near Meridian Activity Center. The bridge has been closed since 2017.The city, last fall, was notified it had been awarded funding for the replacement project through the state’s Emergency Road and Bridge Repair fund. The project has been bid out and awarded to Joe McGee Construction at a cost of $739,614.

“Materials have been ordered,” Hodge said, “And probably next month, in October, you’ll start seeing construction out there.”

The bridge itself is not very large, Hodge said, and the actual construction phase is only expected to take three or four months.

Slope Stabilization

Meridian has also been awarded funding for two slope stabilization projects, Hodge said. Erosion along the creek near 10th Avenue and 26th Street and near 32th Avenue and 19th Street is close to the road and could cause the road to fail if left unchecked.

The grant funding for the work is coming through the National Resource Conservation Service, Hodge said. The project is currently out for bid, with a bid opening date of Sept. 14.

“We’re excited about getting those repaired,” he said.

Eighth Street

In June the city learned it has been awarded a $3 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation Consolidation Appropriations Act to make improvements along the Eighth Street corridor. Improvements discussed include correcting the geometry of intersections, move traffic lights, drainage and more.

“We’re in the process now,” Hodge said. “The City Council has approved the award. We’re going to select an engineer and then we’ll start designing the improvements for that project.”

22nd Avenue Overpass

The bridge connecting downtown Meridian’s 22nd Avenue with Sela Ward Parkway, which serves as the gateway to Meridian, is in need of some attention, Hodge said, and the city is planning to conduct a study to see what options are on the table. New signage has been ordered after state inspectors, in August, ordered the bridge to be weight limit posted at eight tons.

Although the city had originally planned to repair the bridge, Hodge said the project was now being approached as a bridge replacement. In previous discussions, replacing the bridge was deemed a less attractive option as modern bridge standards will not allow the steep slope needed to connect with Front Street.

Hodge said the next step in the plan is to hire an engineer to conduct a feasibility study, which will help the city understand its options going forward. If at all possible, he said, the city administration wants to maintain the same footprint as the current bridge.

“We’re going to hire an engineer who’s well qualified in bridge replacement, and we’ll see what our options are,” he said.Replacing the bridge is estimated at $10-$15 million.

North Hills Street

Two projects are currently ongoing along North Hills Street after the city received a $3.4 million appropriation from the state, as well as a $3.5 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The $3.4 million in state funding, Hodge said, will pay to pave North Hills Street from Highway 19 on the west side of town to Highway 39 on the east side. The city also plans to make some small modifications to improve drainage along the way, he said.

Currently, the city is waiting to receive the funding, which is expected to arrive sometime in September. Hodge said he hopes to see paving begin in October.

The $3.5 million RAISE grant, which is also earmarked for North Hills Street, will go to fund the design and engineering portion of a larger overhaul of the road. Hodge said the road sees more than 18,000 vehicles daily, and has areas that back up during rush hour and places that are simply not safe.

The next step in the process is to select an engineer to do the design work, Hodge said. Unlike the state funds, which stop at Highway 39, the RAISE grant will incorporate North Hills Street all the way to the city limit near Lamar School.

Grand Avenue

Similar to the 34th Street bridge, Meridian was also awarded $2.65 million through the ERBR program to replace a bridge along Grand Avenue. Hodge said Engineering Plus has been chosen as the project engineer, and the city is working to get an agreement drawn up to make that official. Once the agreement is in place, he said, the design portion of the project can begin.

Medical District

Work in the city’s medical district is about 80% complete, Hodge said, and the freshly paved roads are looking great. The contractor is expected to return shortly to wrap up the remaining work, and the city is currently advertising for bids on road striping.

“We’ll have bids in, and we’ll select the contractor, and we’ll do permanent striping, hopefully starting next month, on many roads that we’ve already paved including the medical district that we just paved,” he said.