STARKVILLE — As the city prepares to upgrade water and sewer infrastructure downtown, Starkville Utilities Department is working to keep the public in the loop.
Aldermen plan to advertise the estimated $2.3 million project for bids during their meeting Tuesday evening at City Hall. The city is using American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.
Work could begin as soon as January and be completed by August of next year, SUD General Manager Edward Kemp told The Dispatch on Friday.
“I think that’s probably worst-case scenario,” he said. “If the contractor comes in and is really aggressive, they might can do it quicker.”
The planned project will replace aging 4-, 6- and 10-inch water lines with 12-inch lines down Main Street, from City Hall to Jackson Street; and Lampkin Street, from Washington Street to the railroad tracks near Montgomery Street.
It will also install 12-inch lines along Washington and Jackson streets between Main and Lampkin and provide new service connections for customers on roughly 100 parcels in the project area.
“Historically, we’ve had issues on Main Street with pressure, with breaks, things like that,” said Mary Williams, capital projects manager with SUD. “So, by getting rid of this older system with the older materials and installing new material with the adequate size … that’s the goal of the project.”
The project includes sewer line upgrades behind businesses on South Jackson Street, behind Starkville Cafe and near Starkville Police Department on Lampkin.
SUD plans to hold a town hall-style meeting for the public about the project from 5:30-7 p.m. Nov. 17 at City Hall. Kemp said citizens, and especially affected customers in the project zone, are invited to get an overview of the project, see the design plans and ask questions.
Anyone is also welcome to email [email protected] for updates on the project, especially notifications for lane closures, detours and other disruptions after work begins.
“We know there will be impacts,” Kemp said. “We know there will be some level of inconvenience. … There will be times when there will be one lane blacked or parking areas not available for use. We’re not planning on closing down the entire Main Street all at one time.”
Streetscape project
The downtown water and sewer project is intended to serve as a precursor to a more ambitious, more expensive streetscape project downtown.
The planned $10 million project will narrow the stretch of Main Street east of City Hall, create outdoor event space and increase pedestrian access.
“We’re trying to be very proactive in trying to make sure all of the infrastructure in the downtown area, which is some of the oldest, is fully replaced and functional before the city does the big streetscape project,” Kemp said. “… Coordinating projects is very difficult and challenging, but I feel like it’s really going to be a success story here.”
As of now, Starkville has commitments of only about $4.5 million for the project, Mayor Lynn Spruill said. She hopes the city will obtain as much as $2 million more from the legislature next year, and the rest can be funded with bonded debt.
The city plans to advertise for bids for the streetscape project as soon as the water/sewer project is complete, Spruill said, and finish it no later than 2025.
“People understand this is a good project for the city and MSU,” she said. “I believe all this will be done by the end of the current (alderman and mayor) term.”
Zack Plair is the managing editor for The Dispatch.
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