The City of Kosciusko is further along in its process of paving and repairing main thoroughfares into the city along with other streets, and the work could begin by the year’s end.
At a bid conference held June 17, the city aldermen accepted a bid from contractor Double S, Inc. of Grenada for a total of $3,191,603.30.
Other contractors included Dickerson & Bowen, Inc. of Jackson who bid at $4,215,673.01 and Southern Paving, LLC of Foxworth, who did not submit a bid at the conference.
Roads slated for repair include:
—Natchez Street to Cavalier Drive
—North Jackson Street to Highway 12
—North Madison Street
—Martin Luther King Drive
—Wells Street
—Maple Avenue
—Aponaug Street
—South Street, tying in from West Jefferson and crossing up toward Tipton Street
—Love Road
—College Street
—Smythe Street
—Valley Road
—4th Avenue
—2nd Avenue
Kyle said the city allowed Double S, Inc. 210 days begin working on the paving project, but the construction company recently informed the mayor that the work could begin sooner than later due to rising asphalt costs.
“Hopefully, they can get on this pretty quick,” said Kyle, “but they’ve got 210 days to complete it.”
The plans first came about last September when the Board of Aldermen authorized issuing up to $5 million in bonds. As a result, the city borrowed $3.5 million to fund street repair and paving projects last October.
“All of those streets will be paved,” said Mayor Tim Kyle, “and some of those will be milled. Some of them will be quarter milled. Some of them, if they have curves and the street is not that bad, they will just mill right along the edge, so when they pave it, it kind of ties it in like we did on Jefferson.”
As part of the same project, walking lanes at Jason Niles and Hugh Ellard parks will also be resurfaced.
“Those tracks need resurfacing, so it’s a lot cheaper if you include those on a street paving project,” said Kyle. “If you get a (contractor) to come do a special project like that, they will charge you more for doing smaller projects.”
The mayor said progress has already been made in street repair, but the city plans to continue rebuilding main crossing roads which enter and exit the city.
“We got West and East Jefferson paved all the way through town. Highway 12 is paved, and Huntington is in good shape, so most of our main cross streets now are going to get new pavement,” said Kyle. “And we can work off that.”
Update on S. Huntington Street Project
Last August, the City of Kosciusko received bids for the project to add bicycle and walking lanes to South Huntington Street. The city’s engineering estimate for the project was $1,063,862.75. Only one bid was received from Hemphill Construction Company out of Florence for the amount of $1,898,966, going $835,103.25 over the predicted budget.
The project was bid out again in February and the city accepted a bid from Double S, Inc. in April for a total of $1,379,426.50.
Kyle said funding for the project is available through a grant with the Federal Highway Administration and MDOT, with no cost to the city. And the work could begin in August.
“If we don’t have any crazy change orders, it shouldn’t cost the city anything, which will be great,” said Kyle. “They are set to start on that hopefully in August. The only thing we are waiting for is our pre-construction conference.”
The mayor said Double S, Inc. was looking for a place to store equipment while performing the job, and the city provided them with a storage location.
“The city owns some property on South Natchez where there used to be a gas station,” said Kyle. “So, we’ve given them permission to use it as a place where they can house some of their equipment and gravel, slag, or whatever they need as far as building supplies. They can use that as a place to work from.”
“It will be great walking paths, bike lanes, or whatever you want to use it for. On top of that, it’s just going to make that entrance to the community look so much better,” Kyle said.
