Council approves nearly $1.1M repaving project for North State Street

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Another section of North State Street will soon be repaved.

On Tuesday, the Jackson City Council approved bringing on W.E. Blain and Sons, Inc., to mill and overlay a section of the street running from Sheppard Road to Briarwood Drive.

The contract is for just under $1.1 million.

Once the project is finished, North State promises to offer a much smoother commute for drivers all the way from Briarwood Drive in North Jackson to Fortification Street in Belhaven.

Four bids were submitted for the project, with Blain and Sons submitting the lowest and best, according to city documents.

“Basically, it will be a mill and overlay, with some curb replacement (and) some sidewalk replacement,” Public Works Director Charles Williams said.

The project picks up in Fondren, just north of where the State Street TIGER Grant project ended.

Work is being funded with a federal matching grant being administered through the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District.

The federal government awarded the city nearly $810,000 for the project. The city is providing a 25 percent local match of $269,940.24. That amount is coming from the city’s $35 million infrastructure bond.

Jackson issued the bond in 2020 to help cover road projects across the city. The bond is being repaid with a portion of the city’s one-percent infrastructure tax.

It was not known how long the work would take to complete.

In September, crews wrapped up work on a project to repave North State from Woodrow Wilson Avenue to Fortification Street. And in December, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the completion of the North State TIGER project, a roughly $19.5 million project to completely rebuild the roadway between Hartfield Drive and Sheppard Road.