STARKVILLE — A $2.5 million project to upgrade downtown water and sewer lines will soon be underway.
The first phase to replace undersized water-lines with 12-inch lines will begin on May 24.
Mary Williams, capital project manager for Starkville Utilities, said the upgrades will help to support Main Street in the future and lay the groundwork for the upcoming Main Street redesign streetscape project.
“With installing those newer materials, we will be able to increase that service downtown,” Williams said. “When you have the older, smaller system, you’re kind of limited with what you can do. But by putting in modern materials … you’re able to provide better service.”
The project is under contract with DNA Underground and will include three phases of water upgrades and three phases of sewer upgrades over the next few months. Starkville Utilities has created a tentative schedule for the work, which has been shared with the Main Street Association.
The city plans to use American Rescue Plan Act funds — evenly split between the city’s allotment and a state match — to cover the costs.
The first phase of water upgrades will include East Main Street from the Jackson intersection to City Hall. The second phase, beginning Aug. 7, will include the east half of East Lampkin and South Jackson streets. The third phase will replace lines on the west side of East Lampkin and South Washington streets starting on Oct. 10.
Sewer upgrades, which will be occurring behind businesses and off of some streets, are scheduled to start on Aug. 7. The first phase will include the block between South Lafayette and South Jackson streets. The second phase will begin on Aug. 30 and will affect the block between South Lafayette and South Washington streets. The third phase will begin Oct. 8 and will affect the block between North Jackson and North Lafayette Street.
Williams said she is expecting some traffic disruptions, including detours. But she said Starkville Utilities is minimizing the impact of the upgrades through communication with citizens, including through email alerts. Anyone can sign up to receive those by emailing [email protected].
“We do anticipate some disruptions to the normal traffic flow,” Williams said. “But (the contractor) will be sending in notifications to us that we will be distributing to our normal channels and our email list that we have, along with social media.”
Jeremy Murdock, chairman for the Main Street Association, said the group has been working to keep Main Street businesses informed on the work schedule, which included informative meetings for concerned business owners.
“We see our role being mainly communication,” Murdock said. “Communication between our Main Street members and downtown businesses to the city and Starkville Utilities and the other way as well.”
Paige Watson, director of Main Street for the Greater Starkville Development Partnership, said the Partnership will continue encouraging shoppers to visit Main Street while work is ongoing, including events to drive business to the area.
“We’re still going to have our Main Street events like normal,” Watson said. “We’ll still have our markets, Downtown at Sundowns, and we’re going to have two events in June and July that will be drivers to get people down here. … It’s more important now than ever to support (the businesses).”
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