Work to begin soon on Trace connector

A long-awaited-yet-frequently-delayed stretch of the Longleaf Trace is about to finally move from the drawing board to West Fourth Street in a matter of weeks.

Last week, Hattiesburg City Council approved a low bid of $1,324,161 from JET Construction Inc. of Pascagoula that the city received in mid-June for the Longleaf Trace Project/Phase III that will provide a critical link into the downtown Hattiesburg area.

The project, which will cover about 2 miles along a converted railroad line off the north edge of West Fourth Street, will take the trail from the main entry/exit gate at the University of Southern Mississippi east to Main Street.

The straight line not only will provide a pedestrian/bicycle connection from downtown to the university, but also into the Midtown area.

The link also will provide access to already-developed trail spurs, including the Hattiesburg Zoo, and from Main Street into downtown proper.

"It will give us a new dimension on the trail," Trace manager Herlon Pierce said. "It will give us access to the downtown area as well other historic districts of Hattiesburg. We have an awful lot of (trail) users who come in from out of town and want to tour those areas on their bikes.

"So, it is an important part of the trail and an important of the overall plan."

City engineer Lamar Rutland told council members that the bid would be sent to the Mississippi Department of Transportation for approval, meaning that work on the project could begin within the next 30 days to 60 days.

When finished, the Trace would boast about 43 miles of trail running from downtown Hattiesburg through the USM campus, Sumrall and Bassfield to its northwest terminus in Prentiss.

"It's going to be really good, just outstanding," Southern District Transportation Commissioner Tom King said. "It's going to help the whole area."

The connector has been on the books since early in the decade, with the city turning to smaller "spur" projects while it finalized plans, conducted required environmental studies and began the necessary rights-of-way purchases.

The city had let the project once, but the bids fell outside the range of estimates. The scope of the work was re-evaluated, and the project modified. The third phase now will begin east of U.S. 49.

Pierce said a $400,000 project that created about 50 parking spaces at USM's gate has wrapped construction and will boost access to the trail in the area.