Grant funding from the Mississippi Department of Transportation is being used to construct a safe route to school for students living along Sixth Avenue in Picayune.
These children live close enough to West Side Elementary to walk to school each day, but currently they do so along the side of the street.
“It was just a serious safety hazard,” Councilor Wayne Gouguet said.
Now sidewalks are being constructed down six blocks of Sixth Avenue all the way to the intersection of Juniper, said Public Works Director Eric Morris.
Funding to conduct the work is coming from a $110,000 grant from MDOT, Gouguet said.
In about 30 days time children who live in areas along and around Sixth Avenue will have brand new sidewalks to walk to school.
Morris said funding was awarded to the city late last year. That area was selected by MDOT as the result of a survey they conducted to determine the greatest need, Gouguet said.
Councilor Lynn Bogan Bumpers said about 25 of the children who attend the elementary school will benefit from the grant and the subsequent work.
“I’m just so proud to see it done,” Bumpers said.
Other safety features will be included in the project. Morris said there is a section of the sidewalk that will traverse a deep ditch, so in that area handrails will be installed.
The city conducted some supplemental work to reduce the cost of the project, such as shifting the path of a ditch and installing a culvert to provide a solid base, Morris said. Mailboxes were also relocated by the city in preparation of the work.