The city will soon initiate a pair of improvement projects to intersections on Lynn Lane to help traffic flow.
City Engineer Edward Kemp said the city is adding a left turn lane for westbound traffic to turn into the Sportsplex.
“The third lane will allow vehicles to turn into the Sportsplex without backing up the westbound lane,” Kemp said. “We’ll be doing the same thing from the other direction for vehicles turning onto Logan Drive. It will be shorter since there’s less of a demand from that direction.”
Kemp said the Sportsplex entrance project will also include an additional exit lane on the main entrance. He said there will be a left turn lane and a straight/right turn lane.
“That will help alleviate some of the congestion within the park during the peak hours when everyone is exiting at one time,” he said. “Sometimes you have one vehicle wanting to turn left and backing traffic into the park.”
The city is also undertaking a widening project at Lynn Lane’s intersection with Industrial Park Road. There, Kemp said, the work will add a new lane to separate right- and left-turning traffic from Lynn Lane onto Industrial Park Road.
“It’s a two-lane roadway and you might have one vehicle waiting to turn left (onto Industrial Park Road) at peak hours and there aren’t any gaps,” he said. “What happens is all the vehicular traffic backs up waiting for that one car.
“This will allow a free flow for those cars wanting to turn right, which is the predominant turn direction,” he added.
Once those projects are complete, Lynn Lane will be repaved from Industrial Park Road to Louisville Street.
Lynn Lane is in Ward 2, which Alderman Sandra Sistrunk represents. She said the projects are much-needed as Lynn Lane continues to see heavier travel.
“I think Lynn Lane developed and has grown up,” she said. “With the Sportsplex there, the school (Starkville Christian School on Lynn Lane) and all the activity that takes place in that area, it’s been a much more heavily trafficked road than planned for when they built it. This gives an opportunity for a road that functions better for the drivers and to get it repaved.”
Sistrunk noted the Sportsplex project will not include traffic signals, because traffic counts do not currently warrant them. However, she said the project will include work to prepare the intersection for signals for whenever they’re needed in the future.
Starkville awarded a $681,300 contract to Columbus-based Gregory Construction. Kemp said work should begin in the next week or two and is expected to finish by March, weather permitting.
Kemp said some of the work near the Sportsplex will begin during the Christmas holidays, while Starkville Christian School is not in session.
While Lynn Lane is heavily traveled, he said the project is not currently anticipated to included working at night, as recent work along Highway 12 did.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.