Columbus’ Gregory Construction Services Inc. could be chosen to handle the first phase of a Highway 12 safety improvement project in Starkville that will update the corridor with new traffic signals and medians in an effort to reduce vehicle accidents.
The company submitted a low bid of approximately $8.3 million to the state on Tuesday.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation is expected to award the project in two weeks after vetting Gregory Construction’s bid with its own required specifications, Northern Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert said.
Work is expected to begin next year.
MDOT split the overall Highway 12 project into east and west phases.
The 2017 project, which will focus on the western half of the thoroughfare, will replace outdated, timed traffic signals with modern ones that communicate with each other across a fiber network; transition signal mounts from wires to mast arms; install center-lane medians along portions of the road; overlay the thoroughfare with a new coat of asphalt; add new turning lanes in strategic areas; and improve turning radiuses at intersections.
Tagert also confirmed that two new signals will be installed — one near the Dollar Tree, before the signalized Kroger entrance, and another at the Old Highway 12 access point, which leads to the New Light community.
Tagert forecasted the project to take six months and said most of the work will be completed at night in an effort to lessen the impact on area businesses.
Money for the project will come from state and federal sources, including MDOT’s designated fund for safety improvements.
Similar safety improvements will follow in 2018 for the eastern half of Highway 12 but should be less expensive than the western project, Tagert said.
Highway 12, which is considered Starkville’s main commercial artery, will receive the drastic overhaul in an attempt to curb its high accident occurrence rate.
A previous MDOT study revealed 1,664 wrecks occurred over 6.8 miles of Highway 12 from January 2010 to June 2015. On average, the report estimated about 300 wrecks occur each year on the busy thoroughfare.
“Highway 12 has the highest vehicle accident rate of any route north of the Jackson metro area. That’s the crux for the entire project because there’s been a tremendous amount of physical and property damage,” Tagert said. “Our main objectives here are to make the road safer and improve the flow of traffic while minimizing the impact on businesses. I really think these changes will make a difference in terms of safety on day one.”
Median installations have drawn the most criticism from local businesses since MDOT announced the project in January.
After a public listening session was held that month, Tagert said the department reached out and visited with affected landowners who fear restricting turning-lane access will prevent customers from accessing their stores.
A large number of accidents recorded in MDOT’s study occurred when a vehicle attempted to turn left onto Highway 12 from another access road, crossing two oncoming lanes and the center turning lane before merging with its correct travel lane.
“We made adjustments to the plan based on their recommendations and insight. In a lot of cases, very positive things came from those meetings. The median remains a large part of this plan, but we’re doing everything we can to work with landowners,” Tagert said. “We’re not picking and choosing where to limit left-turn capabilities by businesses but by how historically dangerous these access points are. The median will restrict movement, but there will be left-turn access points … and all signals will have that ability and the ability for U-turns.
“We’ve even seen studies that show median upgrades increase property values, not negatively affect them,” he added. “Ample opportunities to navigate the area will remain in place.”
Along with new signal mast arms, the medians are expected to upgrade the area’s aesthetics. Tagert said MDOT will leave the installations as “a blank slate for the city” in terms of landscaping.
Aldermen approved $25,000 in this year’s fiscal budget for median landscaping costs with the understanding that the next board would allocate an additional $25,000 for the project, said Mayor Parker Wiseman.
A specific landscaping plan — whether the city will utilize a mixture of grass, trees or shrubs — has not yet been decided, he said, but the medians should include irrigation capabilities.
“The Community Development staff is working on ideas, and we’re fortunate to have professionals in-house who are adept at planning landscape projects,” Wiseman said. “We’ll lean on them for their expertise in this matter.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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