MDOT Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert spoke to local business leaders on Wednesday at a lunch event sponsored by the Greater Starkville Development Partnership.
The event was part of the GSDP’s Blue Ribbon Business Resources lunch series held at the Mill Conference Center.
Tagert provided those in attendance with updates concerning one of the most contentious highway projects in the state - the safety upgrades being implemented along the Highway 12 corridor.
The project came about three years ago after a safety audit conducted by MDOT showed a disproportionate number of crashes along the Highway 12 corridor. Over the course of five years, the audit found 1,664 accidents occurred, which factored out to an accident every 22 feet.
“We found several things, between Highway 25 and Spring Street at Hampton Inn, that’s 92-93 percent of your accidents,” Tagert said.
In total, Tagert said these accidents and wrecks resulted in 470 injuries over the five-year time period. This led state officials to start looking at safety and maintenance improvements to help lower those injury and crash statistics in the future.
The first phase of the safety upgrade project began in February and Tagert said MDOT expects the this portion of the project to be finished by October. Phase one of the project extends from one-quarter mile west of New Light Road to Eckford Drive.
Construction on the second phase is scheduled for early 2018. Bids for the second phase will be taken in November.
“We want to make sure Highway 12 has an adequate surface and all the safety features it needs,” Tagert said. “That’s been the directional shift for your DOT.”
While the traffic implications will be completed by football season, Tagert said it will not alleviate the problems caused by game day traffic.
The project includes adding improved traffic light technology to the corridor, with a goal of replacing all traffic signals from Spring Street to New Light Road. Fiber cables will also be installed to allow the signals to communicate and better manage traffic flow.
Two new signals will also be installed, with one at New Light Road and the other in front of Dollar Tree on Highway 12.
The area in front of Kroger along Highway 12 had one of the highest crash rates and Tagert said MDOT is looking to improve the turning radius at that intersection.
Additionally, he said the intersection at Applebees and McDonald’s is not enough to circulate traffic east and west along Highway 12.
“We are putting (a new traffic light) on the east end of that development,” Tagert said. “We’re putting a signal there so the entire Lowes and Kroger and entire development has two ways to feed traffic east or west onto Highway 12.”
Along with improving congestion on this stretch of Highway 12, Tagert said the new lights will also improve the look and feel of the corridor.
“A secondary benefit will dress up that area as well from an aesthetic standpoint,” Tagert said.
Tagert also said improvements would be made on turning points at Stark Road to make it easier for bigger trucks to access the area.
Plans for the Stark Road and Airport Road intersection include a new curb and gutter and concrete island at the intersection in front of Wing Stop.
“We’re trying to find ways in order to improve the safety of the route, and I believe a safe route is better for business,” Tagert said.
A primary goal of the construction phase of the project is to minimize the impact on the business community along the corridor.
“Unless there is an emergency, we are doing lane closures at night.,” Tagert said. “I hope that that helps.”
Growth ultimately became the underlying reason for the improvements, with the number of cars on Highway 12 being higher than any other road in the Golden Triangle.
“Most people don’t realize there are 25,000 to 26,000 cars a day on Highway 12,” Tagert said. “When you see the kind of growth on (Highway) 12 that we have, you have to try to get in front of it.”