NATCHEZ &045; Mention improvements to be made to Minor Street in the coming months, and longtime resident Mary Adams begins to smile.

&uot;It’s going to mean a lot to us because the street is so narrow,&uot; said Adams, who moved to Minor Street in the 1950s. &uot;Kids will be walking down the street and cars will come through here like they’re on the highway.&uot;

As she spoke late Friday morning, crews were conducting survey work along the street and had just finished placing signs at each of the street announcing the project.

As part of the project &045; the construction of which will probably start in earnest in the spring &045; crews will widen the street to 24 feet and add a sidewalk and a parking area along one side of the street, City Engineer David Gardner said.

Curbs and gutters and storm drains will be added to help siphon rainwater to underground pipes, alleviating drainage problems and erosion.

Since part of yards fronting the street will be taken for the project, retaining walls will be built along the street to further prevent erosion.

The project will be funded with $900,000 in federal funds &045; actually, 80 percent in Federal Aid Urban funds with a 20 percent city match.

&uot;We should get approval by November or December&uot; to spend the federal money, which is being routed through the state Department of Transportation, Gardner said.

Winter being a poor time to do construction work, residents should start to see construction in the spring, he said, and the project should take about one year to complete.

Last week, City of Natchez representatives met with Minor Street residents to discuss the project, answer questions. They also reviewed deed documents, since property owners will need to grant rights-of-way for the project.

Aldermen Theodore &uot;Bubber&uot; West &045; whose Ward 4 contains most of Minor Street, along with Alderman Ricky Gray’s Ward 2 &045; said he has been pushing for improvements to Minor Street since he was elected in 1992.

At that time, many thought of Minor Street as one of Natchez’s worst areas, with rampant drug use and unkempt properties, West said.

&uot;That was more perception than reality,&uot; West said. &uot;Still, we thought, ‘If we can change Minor Street and the attitude of people in Minorville, Natchez can change.’&uot;

With that in mind, the Board of Aldermen got on board with the street improvement idea, gathering city and federal funds until the project could be fully funded.

&uot;We’ve spent seven or eight years stashing back funds, drawing the plans and putting a pencil to the figures,&uot; West said. And now that work is set to begin, &uot;I think you’ll see a vast improvement.&uot;

And Minor Street residents think so, too.

&uot;Drainage is a problem. You can see where it’s eroding that part (of my yard) next to the street,&uot; said Sean Crockett, who has lived on Minor Street for 35 years. His mother, Anna Bell Crockett, lives across the street in the house where she was born.

&uot;This will really mean a lot to us,&uot; he said.