- 15O+ miles of streets and roads in the City of Jackson.
- Underground infrastructure — much of it outdated — was a focus for 2024, says City Spokesperson Aaron Dimick.
- Still, City of Jackson paved about 1.5 miles of road in 2024.
- City generally only reconstructs a street or road if neighbors chip in via special assessments.
- Special assessments can mean thousands of dollars in additional taxes.
- Video shows neighbors, City's Public Information Officer Aaron Dimick, streets with new pavement, partially repaved streets, streets still under renovation, and streets profiled earlier this year as some of Jackson's worst.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
More than 150 miles of streets and roads in the City of Jackson means plenty to do for road crews during construction season. Earlier this year, we looked at some of Jackson's worst. Let's see if there have been any improvements — and where those improvements have been made.
"Ever seen anyone hit that [pothole] hard?"
"Yeah. Me." — Myron Smith, Jackson Neighbor
When we last spoke to Myron Smith, there was a large pothole in front of his home on Deyo Street.
"They did it three days after it hit the air...." says Smit. "Filled it all in and everything. They should do that all over the city."
Deyo Street here still looking a bit rough…but some patching has been done.
Washington between Cooper and Elm — still waiting its turn.
But over on High between South and Executive — a nice long stretch of new pavement.
Elm Avenue as well.
A short stretch of new pavement here on Oakridge…also two blocks of Blakely between Elm and Pleasant.
Burr St. between Cooper and Waterloo — a partial resurfacing.
FULL LIST OF CITY OF JACKSON'S 2024 CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
In all, about one and a half miles of new pavement this year, says City Spokesperson Aaron Dimick.
"A lot of times people look at our street construction projects and think it's just roads," notes Dimick. "But we've actually seen a lot of important work here in the City of Jackson through the spring, summer, and fall, to do more than just streets. And a lot of it is underground infrastructure work."
Here on McBride Street, the water main and lead service lines are being replaced. There are no plans for street reconstruction because assessments were not approved. However, the street repair should take care of most of the potholes we showed you earlier this year.
"They told me when this is done the half that they dug up for the pipe will be paved, the other half will be like it was before," says neighbor Steve Darragh. "They will not do that. That's crazy."
Over on Biddle Street, it's full reconstruction.
"They're good. It's good. They work hard on it. Did a good job. Got it nice," says neighbor Michael Powell.
But the bottom line, as the City has already noted:
"Our current funding structure is not enough to keep up with the rapidly deteriorating condition of our streets."
The message is clear: without substantial additional funding, the pace of roadwork in the City of Jackson can be expected to remain about the same.
FIND OUR PREVIOUS COVERAGE OF THE ISSUE HERE.
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