Fifteenth Street South is a thoroughfare used every day by truck drivers from Waste Pro, MMC Materials and APAC as they go to and leave plants in Columbus.
It’s only been about a year since the road was last milled and repaved, but portions of it have already deteriorated. A look at the road near the APAC plant reveals edges where the pavement has caved. Also, the weight of the trucks combined with standing stormwater and summer heat have created large potholes.
That’s just one of several issues councilmen from Wards 1, 2 and 3 are going to address during their strategic planning retreat Thursday. On Tuesday, in advance of the day-long session, councilmen and department heads held the first of a two-day bus tour of each ward to get a closer look at specific problems in each one and begin prioritizing how to address them. Today, they will get a closer look at issues in Wards 4, 5 and 6.
Officials will meet with Phil Hardwick, project manager at the John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Community Development at Mississippi State University, to prioritize goals they want to achieve over the next three years of their term.
Ward 1
Fifteenth Street is not the only problem regarding street conditions Ward 1 Councilman Gene Taylor wants to see fixed. He showed colleagues and department heads the intersection of Seventh Avenue and Seventh Street, where a sinkhole is causing the road to cave in.
“We don’t know at this point whether it’s a city or a light and water department (issue), but our job is to find out so we can correct that,” Taylor said. “That’s not just in that spot. That’s all over the wards and all over the city.”
Another more long-term goal is to install sidewalks on Seventh Street South and Ninth and 10th Avenue, which he said sees heavy pedestrian traffic.
“Those are highly school bus traveled areas,” Taylor said. “Kids are getting off walking home and they have to walk in the street. It’s a safety issue and we definitely need to do something about it. We’re not talking about tomorrow, but putting in a long-term plan to get it done in maybe three to four years.”
The good news about 15th Street South is that the three companies using the road the most have recently discussed plans with city leaders to chip in on rehabilitating it. City engineering consultant Kevin Stafford informed councilmen that Columbus Light & Water has plans to upgrade water lines there, meaning crews will already be required to tear up parts of the road. After those are completed, public works crews will install storm drainage equipment. APAC, a concrete contractor, will then put in a fabric which Wastepro has agreed to finance. MMC Materials will donate crushed stone at no cost and APAC will donate the asphalt, only charging the city for labor.
“An overlay is nothing more than a cosmetic fix,” Stafford said. “It’s not a structural fix. When you overlay a road, it doesn’t mean it’s going to hold up forever. These base repairs need to be done.”
Ward 2
Public works crews have already begun to address long-standing drainage issues in East Columbus. Ward 2 councilman Joseph Mickens said Lee Street running around to Juanita Street has had inadequate drainage for years. A ditch is currently being dug alongside the road and pipes will soon be placed there to help facilitate rainwater drainage.
“The water that releases from the detention pond is running down on those two streets and you can’t even drive through them,” Mickens said. “By opening up that with the ditches and putting the pipes in, that’s going to help tremendously. We’ve been having problems over there for years. This is the first time that’s ever been addressed.”
Stafford said water from those two roads drains to North McCrary Road before making its way to Maxwell Lane and landing in Luxapalila Creek. A study identified that entire area as needing drainage upgrades, he said.
Those drainage issues bring with them headaches for property owners. City crews are currently cleaning out a ditch between Taylor Street and Beech Street to mitigate constant flooding to a nearby property. Mickens said these and other concerns he had in his ward would be addressed Thursday.
Ward 3
Drainage and flooding are also issues in portions of Charlie Box’s ward, particularly Stewart Avenue, Ridge Road and Shelton Street.
A sewage line running down Ridge Road is old and crumbling, causing the road to be uneven in places. Several spots where CL&W workers previously cut to access the line have been patched up.
“It needs to all be cut out and a new pipe needs to be put in,” Box said. “It’s going to have to be a cooperative effort with (CL&W) to get this done.”
A large, undredged ditch on Shelton Street is causing flooding for one property owner every time a heavy rain hits Columbus. This has been a common occurrence since taking office, Box said.
“When it gets a real big rain, this guy’s barn gets flooded on the back,” Box said. “We fixed his driveway up close to his house so that water could come on down, but when it gets here it starts backing up from the Masonic subdivisions and it won’t go anywhere because it’s not draining right. It needs to be dredged and cleaned out all the way from (Highway) 50 to where it comes out on the other end.”
Meanwhile, an installation error occurred on Stewart Road, causing the issues there now, Box said.
“We got some money to go in there and clean that ditch out and we put a box culvert down there,” he said. “Somewhere the elevations were wrong and they raised it a foot higher on one end than it should be, so the water is not draining. It’s backing up on the road.”
Good to go
Councilman Kabir Karriem suggested the tour in a previous council meeting, something which Box said will not only help during the retreat but through the remainder of the term.
“With Gene’s project, we all saw that,” Box said. “There wasn’t any question about that it needed to be done. That’s why it was so good for us to go. When it comes to the table, we feel good about voting for it after you’ve seen something that bad.”
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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