Paving company takes over Natchez street project left unfinished by previous contractor

NATCHEZ, Miss. – A paving company has agreed to resurface sections of Homochitto Street left undone since December as city officials haggle with another contractor that began the project.

While APAC will replace Theobald in finishing the paving project, it’s uncertain when the work will resume. “Let’s just pray that it happens very soon,” Mayor Dan Gibson said Tuesday.

“APAC is stepping in to make these repairs for them,” Gibson said. “We’re really grateful that APAC is going to help us get this done.” 

Theobald Construction Services – the Vicksburg-based contractor – began Natchez’ $1.1 million repaving project in November on Canal Street and then proceeded to Homochitto. However, defective asphalt was laid on some sections lacking an ingredient to ensure it adheres to the surface.

Work was halted in December, leaving severely rough patches at Homochitto  where it intersects with Martin Luther King Street at The Malt Shop and also by the Adams County Family Health Center at Duncan Avenue. Homochitto Street’s shoulder is also bare as it runs past the Dunleith estate and the old Margaret Martin School to MLK. 

Homochitto is one of the most traveled thoroughfares in Natchez.

City officials and Theobald have been arguing over the “quality and detail” of the work in a dispute that could wind up in court, Gibson said. Payments have been withheld for the stalled street project.

However, the Board of Aldermen did agree Tuesday to pay a $193,000 bill the city received in January for materials APAC supplied for the project.

While APAC produces asphalt and does street construction work, it wasn’t the primary contractor for the Natchez street project, but it did supply asphalt. It has an asphalt plant in Adams County.

“They need to be paid before they do more work for the city,” Gibson said.

The mayor did say APAC has a backlog of other jobs elsewhere that has Natchez in a long line, but “They have told us they plan to make the city a priority.”

 APAC is a suburban Jackson-based company that covers Mississippi and Tennessee.