STARKVILLE – Residents along Louisville Street can expect slightly longer commutes this summer as Starkville Utilities begins a major utility pole replacement project beginning June 1.
The project, which entails replacing 17 wooden utility poles between Greensboro Street and Highway 12, is expected to last through July 31. During construction, the southbound lane of Louisville Street will be periodically closed.
“Unfortunately, impacting traffic is part of the necessary requirements in order to keep our crews safe … and also to get in and complete the work as quickly as we can,” Starkville Utilities General Manager Edward Kemp told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “We appreciate the community’s patience as we do this, and hopefully we’ll be able to get in there and knock it out … in time for the school season to start back up.”
Starkville Utilities will post advanced notice of lane closures on its social media pages. Traffic control measures and signage will also be in place to guide motorists through the work zone.
Kemp said the aging utility poles slated for replacement were identified during the department’s comprehensive pole-inspection program, which launched in June 2024 to evaluate the condition of every utility pole in the city. The Louisville Street work marks one of the first major replacement projects following the inspection program’s completion in March.
Over the course of the three-year program, Starkville Utilities contracted with Osmose Utilities Services to perform “top-to-bottom” inspections of more than 7,600 utility poles, costing the city roughly $450,000.
Crews inspected all overhead lines and poles to identify any concerns that could affect service and created an inventory of all poles to update the department’s geographic information system for future planning.
“It gives us a good snapshot of where we are and where to utilize our time most effectively to provide the most value for the system and ultimately the customers,” Kemp said. “I think it’s also valuable for our operational teams to have updated, accurate maps … so … even in times of outage, we’ll have a better idea of all the assets that are out there.”
Roughly 855 poles were identified in need of replacement or repairs. Of those, 11 poles deemed in critical condition were replaced immediately, and the department has since replaced 85 poles deemed non-restorable across the city.
Kemp said replacing the remaining 759 poles will likely be a multi-year effort, with the work being handled primarily by the department’s in-house crew. He declined to estimate a timeline for completion.
“I would say that we’re spending a good amount of every week doing pole replacements and changeouts,” Kemp said. “But it’s a function of manpower, so the only way to expedite that timeline is to bring in additional … contractor crews, and we’re not prepared to do that right now, from a budgetary standpoint.”
The department has not yet determined where the next phase of replacements will occur. Kemp said crews will prioritize poles based on condition, while focusing first on “main feeder circuits” that carry electricity throughout the city, rather than dead-end lines serving smaller residential areas.
Kemp said he hopes the inspection program will become a continuous initiative operating on a 10-year cycle, with the next citywide inspection tentatively planned for 2034.
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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 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
