Columbus Roads Set For Change

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Residents in Columbus and Lowndes County disagree on many things, but one thing most can agree on is that the 18th Avenue Exit is not user friendly.

Soon, that intersection and other congested areas in the city will be getting a makeover.

Thanks to research and designing, the road and a few others will be equipped to prevent those accidents from happening.

Stop lights and stop signs have been the traffic conductors coming off of the 18th Avenue and Military Road exits along Highway 82.

MDOT engineer, Mark Holley says this isn’t the best option.

“Stops work in certain situations. They also delay traffic in certain situations,” said MDOT District 1 Engineer, Mark Holley.

To develop a better option MDOT monitored the area.

“We do traffic counts in the areas, certainly do crash studies to evaluate the types of crashes that are occuring. Basically you model the traffic that you’ve counted and you see which one works the best,” said Holley.

Working with city engineers, MDOT decided to try a new approach: roundabouts.

“It will improve the flow in that area, the traffic flow,” said Holley. “Also, it will reduce the number of accidents that occur in that area. This will allow people to maneuver through that area without having to deal with a stop situation, maybe, and also allow traffic to flow in all directions at the same time.”

Drivers who frequent these routes agree with MDOT’s proposal.

“There’s a lot of traffic. It’s hard to get out onto 18th if you’re coming from a certain direction,” said resident, Lee Ann Moore. “I think the plans for that intersection are going to help a lot. I know there’s not one in Columbus right now, but after Mark Holly explained the other options I do think that’s the best one.”

Currently these roundabouts are still in the planning stage, but Holley says construction will begin in the early Fall.