Last year, locals saw several new structural changes in Pearl River County. Between plans of bridge restoration in order to allow residents commute to work safer to a bigger home for the furry animals of the county’s SPCA, here are the top five development stories of 2014.

The fifth development story of the year is the bridge restoration project. In September, the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to get funds to repair a bridge on McNeill Steep Hollow Road. This was enacted after County engineer Les Dungan brought to their attention the deteriorating condition of 50 local bridges, which are comprised of timber.

The fourth story of the year left some residents with a temporary gas outage. Late last year, the Picayune natural gas line replacement project kicked off, which replaced old cast iron gas lines with new plastic based ones, in order to improve the natural gas system. The project won’t be completed until sometime this month.

The third story of the year electrified the entire local community. Mississippi Power celebrated the opening of their new location at 600 West Canal Street in Picayune. The new location is not only larger, but has more storage space, a conference room, and a drive-thru service for customers.

The second story of the year is the Pearl River County SPCA expansion. The local shelter was able to make facility renovations and upgrades in order to provide a better adoption experience, not only for volunteers but for customers as well.

The top development story of the year is the Pearl River County Courthouse renovation grant. Back in August, the Item reported the Pearl River County Board of Supervisors was awarded a $600,000 Community Development Block grant to make the county courthouse compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act regulations.

While some of these projects are still in the works, only time will tell what becomes of them in 2015.