Work crews on Highway 12 are steadily moving through the first phase of planned safety improvements along the heavily used corridor, showing little concern for recent wet weather.
Phase 1 of the $8 million Mississippi Department of Transportation-funded project, which began in February, is on pace for completion in October, according to Gregory Construction project manager Jason Gill. Phase 2 will begin in early 2018.
“Weather shouldn’t and hasn’t delayed the project,” Gill said, noting as many as 30 crew members are engaged at the site during work hours. “We will work day and night, rain or shine, to finish.”
Last week, workers began removing asphalt in the center turn lane at New Light Road — on the western end of the corridor — to install a new safety curb and raised median that will run east to Eckford Drive and include turnaround points at each intersection along the way. The project’s second phase will extend the curb and median farther east to Russell Street.
Also on the agenda for Phase 1 is construction at Stark Road/Airport Road in front of Wing Stop. The new curb, gutter and concrete island at the intersection will limit access to the center turn lane. Construction at Louisville Street will soon be underway as crew members widen the four-point intersection, which will improve the turning circle, or the smallest possible U-turn a vehicle can make at all points.
Unlimited access to the center turn lane, according to Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert, is the root of many problems on Highway 12 and increases the risk of head-on collisions between drivers, a risk he said the raised median should mitigate.
“We performed a safety audit and found that there were 1,664 car crashes (on Highway 12) over the course of five years,” Tagert said. “That is, by far, the highest crash-rate north of the Jackson-metro area.”
MDOT traffic data shows an average of 25,000 vehicles per day traveling along Highway 12, Tagert said. Because of this, he said construction requiring lane closures will be limited to night time hours.
In addition to road construction, a new traffic signal will be installed in front of Kroger, and all existing traffic signals will be updated with radar detection systems and connections to other traffic signals through fiber-optic cables, Tagert said. This will allow Highway 12 traffic signals to communicate with one another, resulting in less congestion and improved traffic flow.
Jennifer Prather, interim director of tourism for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, expressed her support for the MDOT project.
“I think Highway 12 had a number of issues, and we are grateful MDOT identified them and took the opportunity to invest, not only making it (Highway 12) safer, but also making it more aesthetically pleasing,” Prather said. “Any time we can make the community better for residents and visitors, alike, it’s a good thing for us.”
Tagert said MDOT will open bidding for Phase 2 after the first phase is complete.
Business owners react
With construction changing entrance points to many businesses located on Highway 12, some business owners are still unsure if the project will have a positive impact, although MDOT’s goal is to ensure safety on the road.
John Hendricks, owner of The Lodge, said the middle entrance of the Southdale shopping center where his athletic apparel store is located will be removed. Although he doesn’t think it will negatively affect his business, it will impact the routes drivers are taking while on Highway 12.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Hendricks said. “I don’t think it will kill any businesses, but it is going to make it harder for people to shop. I’m just waiting, at this point, to see the affect it does have.”
Dan Moreland, who owns 25 businesses on Highway 12, thinks the project is unnecessary and the changes will hurt businesses.
“Wrecks aren’t caused by Highway 12. They are caused by so many people who are on their phones or not paying attention,” Moreland said. “I think MDOT could have done a test run to see how the concrete barriers affected Highway 12, but they didn’t do that.”
Allen McBroom, owner of Backstage Music located across from Ruby Tuesday, said he is trying to maintain a positive outlook on the construction project. However, he is still skeptical of the final outcome.
“Having seen what this looks like in other parts of Mississippi, as far as retail traffic goes, I think it is going to be damaging to all of the businesses up and down Highway 12,” McBroom said.
“The chance exists that this will all be helpful, but I still think it is highly improbable. I would love to be proven wrong, though.”
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