By: Amari Collins
STARKVILLE, Miss. (Take 30 News)—Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisors have accepted a bid to repair Blackjack Road in Starkville, Mississippi. Construction is scheduled to start within the next 60 days by Burns Dirt Construction company in Columbus, Mississippi. Blackjack Road has accumulated a lot of potholes over the years, making it hard for students and residents to travel on the road without running over a pothole.
Kaitlyn Mitchell, a sophomore at Mississippi State University and Aspen Heights resident has to drive on Blackjack Road on a daily basis.
"I think it is very terrifying you know driving on it with all the black holes and there aren't really any lights on it so at night time it's really hard to see cause usually I can just like dodge them but driving on it every day is very terrifying," Mitchell said.
The potholes on Blackjack Road have gotten so bad that county workers are having to fill the potholes with asphalt continuously after it rains to prevent drivers from damaging their vehicles and causing an accident. When Take 30 News was on scene, we witnessed workers filling the holes. Oktibbeha County supervisor Orlando Trainer explained that county workers do this when it rains or a report comes in for maintenance.
Orlando Trainer, Oktibbeha County Board of Supervisor, District 2 has been dealing with trying to get reconstruction started on Blackjack Road for about 8 to 10 years now. All the pieces of the puzzle are put together and reconstruction is finally happening.
"The board of supervisors had decided to move forward with issuing a contract to what we determine to be the lowest and best bid or the best and lowest bid so hopefully within 60 days we should see some activity as it relates to construction on Blackjack road."
The bid the board of supervisors accepted was for 8 million dollars.
Throughout the reconstruction process it will take a lot of patience from students and residents that live on Blackjack Road.
"If you like have to go anywhere you have to take that road like you can't go the back way or any other way for a safer route especially when it's raining,” said Mitchell.
It will take approximately 300 working days to complete the reconstruction on Blackjack Road. However, County officials are not sure what end of Blackjack Road construction will start on.
“It's going to encompass from Stone Boulevard and it will probably commence at Stone conclude at Bardwell or vice versa," stated Trainer.