STARKVILLE – Residents looking to take the intersection of Highway 182 and Jackson Street in Starkville will have to detour around utility work starting next week.
The intersection will be closed for replacement work of water, sewer, drainage and communication utilities starting Wednesday until early February, a city press release said.
“The project has been underway for quite some time now, and we’re reaching … the busiest intersection of this project,” Mayor Lynn Spruill told The Dispatch. “… It is also the most complicated, in that, everything we’ve got is pretty much going in that roadway. So it was not a situation where we could keep one lane open, going either north (and) south or east (and) west. And so in order for us to get it done quickly and move on, … we are going to have to close that down.”
The work is part of the ongoing Highway 182 Revitalization project, which is nearing the halfway point both in progress and funding spent, said Associate City Engineer Chris Williams. Through the end of October, nearly $17 million has been spent of about $41.2 million in estimated costs, he said.
The project, which runs about one mile between Old West Point Road and Long Street, broke ground in fall 2024. The intention of the project is to reduce the road to two lanes divided by landscaped medians, add pedestrian and bike lanes to each side of the street and install new underground utilities, among other things.
Signage indicating detours around the closure will be posted early next week and will remain covered until work begins Wednesday morning, Williams said.
Drivers heading north or south on North Jackson Street will reroute onto University Drive, North Montgomery Street and Critz Street.
Westbound traffic on Highway 182 can turn south onto North Montgomery Street, then take University Drive, North Jackson Street, West Lampkin/Greenboro Street, then turn north on Reed Road to return to the highway.
Eastbound traffic will detour onto Dr. Douglas L. Connor Drive, Jefferson Street, North Jackson, and University Drive, then onto North Montgomery Street before reentering the highway.
The goal is for the intersection to be reopened by Feb. 1 to mitigate the inconvenience to local drivers, Williams said. After infrastructure work is complete, he said additional gravel and overlay will need to be done at the intersection, but the city’s plan is to open the street to drivers again sooner rather than later.
“We’re going to try to reopen to traffic as soon as possible,” he said. “… So pretty much what we’re trying to get through is curb and gutter (work), and … everything that can be done while traffic is on the streets will be done after we open it up. So we’ll get the absolute minimum that we have to get done to open it back up to traffic.”
Beneath the surface
The work involves the replacement of utility lines at the intersection, which run the entire length of the project, including a 60-inch wide drainage pipe alongside 12-inch water and sewer lines under the intersection, Williams said.
Spruill said the hope for these improvements is to help mitigate drainage issues at the intersection.
“We’ve had issues where we’ve had that intersection become impassable because of storm water, and so that’s going to be a critical piece of what we’re … improving as a part of this project,” she said.
Williams said the project, barring any weather delays, remains on pace for its intended completion in June 2027.
“Getting this intersection done will put us into a whole different phase of the project,” Spruill said. “But this is the most impactful area of this project in terms of the intent in improving the storm water (drainage) and improving our infrastructure options. … I think it’s really exciting for us, because it will be nice to have this done.”
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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
