Construction is under way to ease traffic flow at the intersection of Miss. Highway 12 and Spring Street. The project cost an estimated $1.3 million.
The project will take a year to complete and add two lanes at the intersection, bringing the total number of lanes to seven. One of the lanes will be a turn lane onto Spring Street for drivers heading south on Miss. Highway 12. The project, when completed, will ease traffic flow on Miss. Highway 12, make it easier for cars to turn on to Spring Street heading for Blackjack Road and ease traffic flow to the Columbus and University exits.
Marvin Vanderford, engineer on the Starkville project said, “By adding the turn lane, it [the intersection] will be able to hold more cars and create seven, 11-foot lanes.”
Students traveling Miss. Highway 12 to campus for class have complained that the construction is bottlenecking traffic and causing students to be late for class.
“I dislike when they have construction during the fall semester. It makes it very difficult to get to class,” Mark Thomas, a graduate student said.
“The construction actually began about two weeks before school let out in May,” Vanderford said.
Construction is not only causing traffic problems during the week but also on game day as well. The Athletic Department Web site issued a release last week encouraging fans to arrive early to games to help alleviate traffic problems at various highway construction undertakings around the area. The Mississippi Highway Patrol, Starkville Police and Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department are assisting traffic flow at all construction locations in the area on university game days in order to help with the increase in traffic.
The construction is scheduled for completion in May of 2004.
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