Phase 2 of the South Ward paving program could begin by the end of April, South Ward Aldermen Willis Thompson said Friday.

“I hope it will be sooner than that. I’d like to get it started,” he said.

Thompson’s comments come as Suncoast Infrastructure completed sewer line repair work on Halls Ferry Road, one of the city streets designated for paving under the second phase. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen in March awarded a $1.445 million contract to Suncoast to begin repairs to problems found during an assessment of part of the city’s sewer system done in 2016.

“This was a point repair; they fixed a hole in the sewer line,” public works director Garnet Van Norman said. “We were going to have to fix it before we began paving.”

Suncoast’s contract covers about 4 percent of the repairs required on the system found during the first assessment. The city is under a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency to assess, map and repair, replace and upgrade one-tenth of the city’s sewer system per year for 10 years. Suncoast also has the contract to do the second phase of the sewer line assessment.

Halls Ferry Road is one of six streets to be paved under the second phase, which will cost more than $1.4 million. Other streets include YMCA Place, Dos Casas Lane, Capri Drive, Enchanted Drive and a section of Moonmist Drive. Thompson did not know which street would be paved first under the project.

Under the project, sections of concrete paving will be removed, the roadbeds reworked and filled and repaved with asphalt. Any problems with water and sewer lines or storm drains will be repaired before a street is overlaid. Curbing will also be handled during the project.