The Vicksburg Board of Mayor Aldermen has hired Waggoner Engineering to perform the engineering for a $4 million paving program involving the resurfacing of 20 city streets.

The board approved the $460,000 contract with Waggoner at a special called meeting Tuesday. The resurfacing will be done in two phases, with the first phase to include streets in the Indiana Avenue area in Ward 2 and one in Ward 1 that have already undergone design.

“We have a partial design that has been completed for Indiana Avenue from Porter’s Chapel (Road) toward Calvary Baptist Church,” Ward 2 Alderman Alex Monsour said. “That’s one we’re going out for bid on. The next one is Porter’s Chapel Road from Indiana Avenue toward Raintree (Road).”

The third street, he said, is Old Halls Ferry Road. The city has a design for Harrison Street in Ward 1.

Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield said Harrison Street has been a problem for several years, citing washouts, replacing underground utilities and punch lists for repairs.

“That street is a major thoroughfare between Cherry Street and the junior high schools,” he said. “It gets a lot of traffic.”

The following streets will be paved under Phase 2:

• Ward 1: Tully Street, Walters Street, King Street, Jefferson Circle, Johnson Street, Spout Springs Street, Lane Street, Monument Street, Dallas Street, Portland Street, Bowmar Avenue and Washington Street intersection, Depot Street and Washington Street intersection.

Ward 2: Indiana Avenue from N. Frontage Road to Confederate Avenue, Bellaire Drive from Porters Chapel Road to the top of the hill, Kendra Drive from Northridge to Long Meadow and Mission Park Drive.

Under the paving project, Monsour and Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield each have $2 million to spend on paving in their wards.

The board in February 2021 approved a total of 30 city streets to be paved — either a full street or street section — as part of the $4 million paving plan but had to alter the program after learning in June of an amendment to the Environmental Protection Agency regulations involving lead waterlines.

The amendment, which was approved in March, requires municipal and water district water systems with lead waterlines to submit a lead service line replacement plan to state environmental agencies by Oct. 16, 2024.

At the time, Public Works Director Garnet Van Norman said all of the city’s old waterlines have lead surfaces “and in the next three to four years we’re going to have to start removing them. If we pave the streets now we’re going to have to tear them up again in three to four years. We’re going to try to start doing that (replacing lines) but it’s going to be very difficult.”