Longview Road paving
Longview Road is an over three-mile stretch of gravel road that links the 25 bypass with Highway 12. It is the longest stretch of unpaved road in the county. As a connector, it is well traveled by private vehicles, large commercial trucks, horse trailers and vehicles traveling to the MSU Horse Park and many others who wish cut through to access one of the two highways. Contrary to some claims made in a recent Board of Supervisors meeting, there are many residences all along this three-mile stretch of road. Several side roads intersect with Longview Road which lead to homes of taxpaying citizens who must travel down Longview to get to the rest of the county. These citizens have for decades paid their property taxes and watched as the tax dollars are spent paving smaller, less populated and less traveled roads throughout the county.
Various plans have surfaced that included paving this road. None have come to fruition. In the mid 2000’s the county received funds to pave the road and plans were drawn, agreements for utilities were signed by home owners, and rights of way were purchased. After about seven years when the county finally was prepared to begin to process of construction, it was found that the money was no longer available. The funds were used to construct the new access road to Mississippi State from Poorhouse to Spring Street. One wonders if the process had not dragged on for so long if the funds would have been diverted to Mississippi State.
At recent board meetings the supervisors discussed plans to use funding available to pave the two ends of the road, leaving a long swath unpaved in the middle. The county will pave the east end from the bypass to Horsely Lane and they will repave the west end from the railroad track in Longview to just past the church.
Residents to be left in areas unpaved wonder why the county is repaving areas that have benefited from paving for several decades before paving areas that have never been paved. The home owners on that stretch pay their taxes the same as all others and wonder why they are being ignored. The two supervisors, Montgomery and Miller, who represent Longview Road recently decried raising taxes on the rest of the county for construction on this road. In light of that, the homeowners on this road wonder why they are required to pay the same property taxes as those who live on paved roads. If one is only to be taxed in relation to the benefits received, then the homeowners on Longview Road should be eligible for a tax rebate.
Repaving a stretch of road is by definition not progress nor is it fair to the people that live on Longview Road on the stretches that aren’t and apparently won’t be paved.
Joseph and Priscilla Ammerman
Starkville
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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