Residents will soon be able to easily walk or bike from the McKee Park area to Mississippi State University now that a joint effort has been awarded an $800,000 grant.
The Mississippi Transportation Commission awarded a Federal Transportation Alternative Program grant of up to $795,360 at its May meeting that, along with a 20 percent local match, will connect recently completed bike and pedestrian pathways along South Montgomery Street to new trails running along Locksley Way and Blackjack Road, connecting to campus at Stone Boulevard.
The grant is a result of a partnership between Starkville, Oktibbeha County and MSU.
The award letter states the project’s scope must still be developed and approved, but documents associated with the January grant application proposed installing a 10-foot-wide bike path and a 5-foot-wide sidewalk.
Once completed, the new access road and the previously constructed Lynn Lane multi-path will provide bike and pedestrian access from McKee Park to the university, and also link both areas of town to the SMART Route hub at the Starkville Sportsplex.
A timeline for approval and construction was unavailable Wednesday.
District 4 Supervisor Bricklee Miller, who championed the project from its conception, said she was grateful for the state’s grant and described the award and traction on her first project as “a memorable moment.”
“I can’t explain in words how I felt to read this letter,” she said via text message to The Dispatch.
Starkville aldermen and county supervisors directed the Golden Triangle Planning and Development District to apply for the grant in January after agreeing to split the costs not covered by the award between the two entities and the university.
Both boards also approved future maintenance funding agreements since the proposed pathway will run from Starkville’s municipal limits into Oktibbeha County proper.
“From the initial meeting of the board of supervisors, the process has been about teamwork,” Miller said after the city and county approved their respective applications.
Ward 5 Alderman Scott Maynard previously hailed the project as “another move in the right direction” in terms of bolstering Starkville’s connectivity.
“I know the mantra from three years ago from some folks was ‘Sidewalks to nowhere,’ but I think this and the previous board addressed a lot of that,” he said in January.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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