Traffic signals at Malfunction Junction will be changed Saturday morning to reroute traffic through the intersection.
The electrical work will begin at 6:30 a.m. and is expected to last about three hours, said Peter Rook, assistant director of services at the physical plant.
A new traffic light was installed Thursday at the intersection of Creelman Street and Bully Boulevard.
Rook said, “We chose Saturday to rewire the electricity because we felt it would be the best day with the least amount of traffic.”
The work is being done in preparation for the upcoming re-opening of Creelman Street.
“For many years Creelman was a one-way street. Now that Darden Avenue has been turned into a parking lot behind Lloyd-Ricks, Creelman has to become a two-way street to accommodate this,” Director of University Relations Joe Farris said.
Traffic entering campus from Miss. Highway 12 (Bully Boulevard) must go through two-way turning to get onto Stone Boulevard. Farris said that by the end of the day tomorrow, the barricades will be removed and one of the lane will become a west-bound, left-turn lane only.
“Now traffic can come up Stone Boulevard and turn left onto Bully instead of going up to the stadium and making a 270-degree turn,” said Rook.
“One reason for this change is to make traffic move more efficiently through the intersection,” said Farris.
Rook said this is the “final solution” for the opening of Creelman Street.
Director of Parking Services Paul Welch said that the building of the new parking lot beside Lloyd-Ricks eliminated Darden Ave. but created around 100 new staff spaces.
“When they straightened out Creelman, the front entrance to the McCarthy Gym lot was closed. Now that parking lot can only be entered from the back,” Welch said. (See PARKING, 1).
The construction on campus is expected to be completed by next Saturday.
Farris said, “We need to have everything ready by the first game to accommodate heavier traffic.”