Upgrades will be a major boost for traffic when completed.
Rosemary Road is slated to undergo a $3 million-funded renovation for an overdue upgrade–and the results will be economically beneficial when the job is completed.
“Funding had long been sought for to do this renovation for a number of years,” said Josh McPherson of Eley-Barkley Engineering and Architecture, P.A. “We wanted to improve Rosemary Road from Highway 61 to Delta Council Drive which covers our entire industrial park. It’s been an uphill battle for some time, but the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has agreed to fund the project to completely rehab and repair Rosemary Road.
Currently the road is asphalt. It will be torn down and rebuilt as an industrial road with nine-inch concrete pavement, two-laned and stretching for about 3/4 of a mile long. “We’ll also be realigning the intersection of Rosemary and Hwy. 61,” said McPherson. “As well as adding new traffic lights and installing new piping for the drainage canal.”
Work has not yet begun, but with funding now available, survey and designing work is in place. The work will begin next summer or fall–construction won’t actually start until about a year from now. “After that, we’re looking at about a six or seven month timeline until completion,” said McPherson.
Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons is primarily responsible for getting the funding approved, McPherson said. “Actually, even before Mr. Simmons became commissioner and was a state senator, he was working with the City of Cleveland and Bolivar County to fund and initiate the project.”
“If you’re going to attract and keep industry you must have proper infrastructure,” said Commissioner Simmons. “We are totally committed to the renovation at all levels–MDOT, county and city–and realize what the new work will do for local economic growth and development.”
When finished, Rosemary Road will end up being an industrial route to the industrial park, McPherson said. “Currently we just don’t have that as the road is now–the renovation will be a huge benefit to help attract more industry,” he said.
By Jack Criss
The Bolivar Bullet