The Starkville Bypass opens today at 8:15 a.m. The four-lane divided bypass connects Highway 25, near Talking Warrior Creek, to the end of the Miss. Highway 82 Bypass north of Starkville.
The remaining part of the bypass is expected to open late in the summer of 2004. Miss. Highway 25 will serve traffic until the entire project is done.
A release from the Mississippi Department of Transportation suggests that motorists drive carefully, paying extra attention to new traffic patterns and outlets. Workers will continue working on or near the roadway.
Zach Stewart, Northern District Commissioner, said there has been a high demand for the bypass’ opening- so much that the time was pushed from 10 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
“It’s going to take a lot of traffic off Highway 12. The ultimate benefit will be when the total system is completed,” Stewart said.
The project was scheduled to be finished over a year ago, said Mayor Mack Rutledge. Timing complications combined with inclement weather, however, detained the project’s completion.
Local businesses were pleased to hear the bypass was finally opening.
“It’ll be a good flow of traffic, it will bring more business to the western end of town. They’ll have more options on the way to the hotel. We’ve been waiting on this for a long time. I’m excited about it,” said Gail Harris, general manager of Hampton Inn on Highway 12 East.
The will provide additional funding for the city of Starkville and offer more opportunities to its denizens, Rutledge said.
“I’m very excited because it will improve transportation circulation and make it easier for people to get in and out of the city. We know there will be large numbers of people using it this weekend for the game,” Rutledge said. “We also anticipate a lot of commercial development. That will certainly help our tax collections. Any time there is building improvement, those properties are subject to property tax.”
“Taxes are some benefit, but our greatest benefit will come from retail business for the city, which will also expand shopping opportunities,” Rutledge said.
The most beneficial part of the bypass’ opening will be the area’s potential for development, Stewart said.
“When you use the term bypass you think you are skipping somebody, but this is not a bypass, it is a highway to opportunity,” Stewart said. “There will be opportunity for businesses and it will provide access to land that has never before been accessible residential and industrial development.
“You can give a community good access, but just because you have access doesn’t mean you are going to have instantaneous development; it depends on local leadership. It means the local people have to do the legwork if you really want to see the Starkville Bypass developed to its full potential. That’s the key,” Stewart said. “It’s up to the people of Starkville as to how they use it.”
It’s been a long way but we are glad it is finally over,” Rutledge said.