By Staff
MAKING A MESS The 22nd Avenue overpass, traveling both north and south, failed The Meridian Star's coffee cup test. Photo illustration by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
Editor's note: This is the first of a series of reports designed to examine traffic issues in Meridian. For this particular test, we filled a coffee cup with water 1 inch below the rim, placed it on the dash of a 1996 Nissan Altima and drove the streets of Meridian.
By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
Sept. 2, 2001
After receiving a number of complaints about the condition of streets in Meridian, staff members of The Meridian Star conducted an informal investigation to determine how bumpy the city's major arteries are.
The team drove five high-traffic areas Eighth Street, the newly paved 10th Avenue, North Hills Street, 22nd Avenue and Fifth Street and also tested a couple of downtown areas.
Here is how they fared:
Eighth Street, driving west from 22nd Avenue to the Meridian Community College entrance This road compared favorably with other, more recently paved roads in Meridian. There was only one trouble spot, a bump just east of 35th Avenue, which caused a little water to spill from the cup.
10th Avenue, north from 14th Street to North Hills Street This road gets an A+ rating. The water in the cup barely moved as we drove along. Not one spill.
North Hills Street, west from Highway 39 North to Highway 19 North We had a bit of a problem just west of Highway 39, where a good deal of water spilled from the coffee cup along some bumpy areas of pavement. Water also spilled at the intersection of Poplar Springs Drive. The rest of the road was smooth sailing.
22nd Avenue, south over the 22nd Avenue overpass to North Frontage Road and north from North Frontage Road to 14th Street This road failed the test miserably along the 22nd Avenue overpass, where the coffee cup fell off the dash. The rest of the road was relatively smooth, with only a few bumps knocking the water to the top of the rim.
Fifth Street, east from 65th Avenue at Highway 11/80 West to 23rd Avenue Water spilled just west of where Fifth Street connects to Highway 11/80 West. Water also spilled in the 46th Avenue area, where there are some bumps in the pavement. The rest of the road was found to be in relatively good condition.
18th Avenue, north from North Frontage Road to 14th Street This street failed the test, not surprisingly, along the railroad tracks and over the 18th Avenue overpass, where water sloshed from the cup. Water also spilled in small quantities around 11th and 12th streets.
17th Avenue, south from 14th Street to Sixth Avenue Where didn't the water spill?
11th Street, from 17th Avenue to Constitution Avenue Water spilled everywhere along this street until we got to the Riley Hospital underpass. The cup also nearly bounced from the dash of the car.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for the Meridian Star. Call her at 693-1551, ext. 3236, or e-mail her at mtodd@themeridianstar.com.
Next in the series:
The Meridian Star wants your opinions for the next report in this series on road conditions and traffic. It will include blind and/or dangerous intersections, as well as well-designed, safe intersections. Please send your comments about intersections to: Editor Buddy Bynum; The Meridian Star; P.O. Box 1591; Meridian, MS 39302. You can also e-mail your suggestions to bbynum@themeridianstar.com. Please include your name and phone number.