Mayor Toby Barker identifies four distinct areas in Hattiesburg with an abundance of trains that cause headaches for motorists: the two Norfolk Southern lines in downtown and near Scooba Street, along with the two Canadian National lines at the intersection of James and Edwards streets and in the Mobile-Bouie Neighborhood.
Barker and members of Hattiesburg City Council are hoping to help ease those problems with a proposed two-lane overpass that would connect Hall Avenue to East Hardy Street along Gulfport Street. Council voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve a contract with Hattiesburg firm Neel-Schaffer to provide engineering services related to the project, which would pass over the Canadian National line in that area.
“People have spoken to us that this is their main transportation priority, is trying to come up with a solutions that can accommodate train, vehicular and pedestrian traffic in downtown,” Barker said. “When trains come through, the whole train station system in downtown stops.
“So we’ve listened to that, and we’re working with the neighborhood in terms of where that path goes, because you have to make accommodations as to what happens when you get on either side of those paths. We have not finalized a funding source yet, so we’re not all the way committed, but we are using this as a potential match for the build grant process that comes up every year. We went after some of these transportation grants last year and were not successful, so we’re going after some again this year to try and alleviate this train issue once and for all.”
The project would start begin in the East Jerusalem Neighborhood at East Hardy and Gulfport streets and turn west, passing over the Canadian National line and ending at Bay Street and Hall Avenue. The Hall Avenue section would consist of two lanes, a curb and gutter, a new drainage system and improvements to lighting and landscaping.
A traffic signal also would be installed at the intersection of East Hardy and Gulfport streets.
“So if you’re on Hall Avenue coming from downtown, and you pass Walnut, Court and Bay (streets), then Hall bends to the right around Edwards Street,” Barker said. “The initial concept is for Hall Avenue to keep going straight, because it dead-ends right now behind Sullivan’s Grocery.
“So Hall would continue, and you’d start to make your ascent, and then you’d cross the tracks behind that grocery store. Then you would come down on the back of Friendship Park into the East Jerusalem Neighborhood.”
The overpass would also improve response times for emergency vehicles coming to and from the upcoming Hattiesburg Public Safety Complex on James Street, which will soon be the new home of Hattiesburg Police Department and the city’s municipal court.
“It makes no sense for us to spend $26.5 million on a police station if we can’t get police cars a quarter-mile away because trains cross the tracks,” Barker said. “So we’re continuing to listen to the neighborhood, and we’ll hopefully have more direction in the next month or so.”
