JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) - Lights are going up along part of Highway 18 in Jackson.

City crews are installing lights along Highway 18 between Thousand Oaks Drive and TV Road.

Councilman Brian Grizzell, Ward 4, said he's excited about the project, which has been in the work for several years. He said the City Council was able to use Grand Gulf Evacuation funds to help pay for the project.

Grizzell said the funds are a payment in lieu of taxes, and the city receives about $2 million a year. When Grizzell took office, he said a major concern for residents in Southwest Jackson was the lack of lighting in the area.

“There are a lot of accidents. You have pedestrians who are walking toward Walmart, who, you know, may not be visible to drivers. Then, of course, you have animals. And also because there's so much. There's a lot of opportunity for not only expansion and development in that area, I felt that, you know, adding more lighting will make it a little more, I guess you'd say desirable to actually do business in that area," he said.

The councilman hopes this section of Highway 18 will be lit up by the end of 2024.