A Memorandum of Understanding between the city of Hattiesburg and Lamar County will get the ball rolling on the construction of a two-lane roundabout to ease traffic at the heavily-travelled intersection of Oak Grove Road and Weathersby roads.
“Right now, you have a three-way stop where Weathersby and Oak Grove Road kind of come together, and traffic gets backed up regardless of what time of day,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “And during peak travel hours, it’s very slow-moving traffic through there.
“So a traffic circle, or roundabout, is a proven way to move traffic through efficiently and safely. We have a lot of complaints about how slowly traffic moves at Weathersby and Oak Grove Roads.”
The memorandum, which was recently approved by Hattiesburg City Council, states the city will contribute no more than $301,000 to the county for the project. That amount is based on three studies that researched the cost of property acquisition, appraisals, surveys, damages, closing costs and other issues related to road work.
The total amount payable from the city to the county will be due beginning with the Fiscal Year 2020 budget year, with the first payment of $150,000 due by March 1, 2020. The remainder of the funds will be due by March 1, 2021.
Officials expect the total cost of the project to be in the neighborhood of $750,000. Of Lamar County’s share of the cost, the Metropolitan Planning Organization will cover 80 percent with the county matching the remaining 20 percent.
“The city is assisting with property acquisition, which will run anywhere between $200,000 and $300,000,” Barker said. “Our contribution will take place over the course of two different fiscal years, so we can spread that cost over a couple of budget years.”
Lamar County Engineer Don Walker said although a final timeline for the project has not been set – as well as a concrete traffic plan during construction times – has not been set, county officials recently had a “kickoff” meeting with the Mississippi Department of Transportation to work on final project layouts and preliminary engineering.
“Determining how we will manage existing traffic will be a part of our planning,” he said. “Obviously, we would advise through traffic to avoid the area; however, maintaining access to businesses and properties within the work area will be a priority.”
