Video: A Project Worth Nearly $5 Million Will Help One Local City Pave Its Roads And Make Drainage Improvements

LOUISVILLE, Miss. (WCBI)-Louisville drivers are used to driving on bumpy and cracked roads, but now city leaders are planning to smooth out their ride.

“We’re very mindful, not insensitive what so ever to those affected by it,” said Mayor Will Hill. “Whether they travel on it everyday or they live there or they’re employed on these terrible streets, because there are some in just terrible condition, but it will be, and with assurance it will be handled.”
Mayor Hill is confident in making that promise, because the city is currently working to pave 60 roads and make improvements to 27 drainage sites.

“One of the acknowledgments that I get from people when I say 60 streets is there’s some that don’t even realize we have 60 streets inside the city of Louisville but we do,” said Mayor Hill. “Again, be mindful that it may not be 100% of those streets, but 60 different areas will be attended to. Some will be longer, some will be partial runs just depends on what’s needed in that area.”

In order to make these repairs, it’ll cost nearly $5 million.

Hill said money they’ve received from the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster fund will pay for the projects.

“It was so much work and planning that was involved to get us to this point, and then we had to have the approvals,” the mayor explained. “We could not just carelessly go out and proceed without the approvals, therefore we wouldn’t be eligible for reimbursement. So it took a lot of time and it was a lot of communication and negotiation with FEMA and FEMA.”
It’s been a long time coming for the city of Louisville since the 2014 tornado.  Now, city leaders are hoping these repairs will bring new life into the city.

“It’s a very unique opportunity,” said Mayor Hill. “It’s one of a kind with the first in Mississippi never be able to benefit from this type of program. I’m hoping we will be the story of success that maybe only federal and state level they look at this as an example that this might be the future of recovery projects.”

The drainage projects are expected to start any day now. Once those are complete, contractors will begin paving the roads in the city.