Thirteen McComb streets are finally getting some much-needed attention in three separate public works projects.
Many of the city’s streets are in dire need of repair, and the 13 slated for work also will receive repairs to curbs and gutters before being milled to remove the existing asphalt, then overlayed.
The largest undertaking involves 10 streets near McComb High, Higgins Middle and Otken Elementary schools.
The board of selectmen Tuesday night gave Public Works Director Philip Russell the go-ahead to execute a $983,461 contract with Dickerson & Bowen of Brookhaven, which includes a 120-day time frame. If the contract is finalized by the end of August, the project could be finished by the end of the calendar year.
Many of these streets have been repeatedly paved in the past, but the existing asphalt was not stripped beforehand. Now, the streets are several inches taller than they should be and will require extensive milling to bring the levels back down.
“These streets have been overlayed and overlayed and overlayed without being milled,” Russell said. “If you look at the gutters, they’re deep trenches now because the asphalt has been stacked up, and you’ve lost your curbs and gutters.”
The project is not expected to take the full 120 days — Dickerson & Bowen has multiple projects running concurrently, so the streets will be done in parts over the four-month period.
Russell said the work is still in the planning process and he does not have exact start dates yet.
The second project is a joint effort between Pike County and McComb to fix Delaware Avenue Extension.
Pike County is expected to begin milling the worst section of Delaware Avenue Extension, from Interstate 55 to Chickasaw Drive, “any day now,” according to Russell.
Once that section is finished, the city will pick up at Chickasaw Drive and continue to the western terminus at Highway 570.
The city also plans to mill, overlay and possibly cut curbs at intersections on Pearl River Avenue in a project that is expected to begin next spring or summer.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation gave McComb $386,400 in Federal Surface Transportation Program funds, which requires a 20 percent match. The city does not have as much control over the timeline and other specifics because of the restrictions on spending federal funds.
“When you do a project with federal highway funds that come from MDOT, you have to go through a whole lot of other steps to monitor the requirements for spending that we don’t have to do on our own projects,” Russell said.
The third and most expensive project is Phase II of the Summit Street east interceptor project — a $2.7 million job funded by a $600,000 Community Development Block Grant, a $2 million state loan and city monies.
Unlike the other two, this project requires T.L. Wallace Construction of Columbia to dig up one lane of Summit Street to replace the sewer main running below it, along with all of the water service connections and a water main. However, residents and businesses in the area should not have any disruption to water or sewer service during the work, Russell said. After that, Summit Street will be milled and overlayed.
Russell expects that none of the streets involved in the paving projects will be completely closed.
“The people who live there will be able to get to their houses,” Russell said. “There’s probably gonna be some short periods of time where somebody may not have access to their driveway, but it shouldn’t be any great length of time.”
Russell said the 13 streets are a good start in correcting a citywide problem, but he says the city isn’t done.
“I hope and the board hopes that by the time we roll around to next spring and summer, we’ll be doing our next city overlay project,” Russell said. “We’ve already budgeted money to do another project next year.”
City streets to receive work in 2013
| Gay Street |
From Delaware Avenue to Park Avenue |
| Virginia Avenue |
From Gay Street to Fifth Street |
| Louisiana Avenue |
From Sinclair Street to Third Street |
| James Street |
From Delaware Avenue to Virginia Avenue |
| Seventh Street |
From Delaware Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue |
| Sixth Street |
From Maryland Avenue to Virginia Avenue |
| Pennsylvania Avenue |
From Bendat Street to 21st Street |
| Avenue C |
From Magnolia Street to South Locus Street |
| South Myrtle Street |
From Pearl River Avenue to Avenue B |
| South Live Oak |
From Pearl River Avenue to Avenue B |
