Repaving under way

Highland Colony's potholes targeted

Improvements to Highland Colony Parkway have been a year in the making but are expected to be finished quickly.

Madison and Ridgeland started planning last April to use federal stimulus funds to make improvements to portions of the roadway. By late April or early May, officials in the two cities expect to see work crews putting a smooth riding surface down by repairing the roadway base and adding new top coats.

"We were ready for them to start, like, yesterday," said Denson Robinson, public works director for Madison. "It took a long time, longer than anticipated. With federal money, sometimes is takes longer."

The money for the Highland Colony rehabilitation work comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The two cities, along with Madison County, Canton and Flora equally split the $2.2 million in federal money last April. Each local government got $451,699 but the Mississippi Department of Transportation is getting 15 percent from each for oversight of the projects.

"With ARRA money, there are various rules and regulations," Ridgeland public works director Mike McCollum said about the start-to-finish time. "There is a lot of paperwork, a lot of approvals to get."

Once the work starts, though, McCollum said drivers won't have to wait long for the job, stretching a little over half a mile, to be finished. "Ten days tops," he said.

Madison County Herald