A school bus is driving down South Lamar on it's way out of construction after waiting behind a flagman.

Hayden Phillips

JOUR 271

9/27/12

Bike Path Construction

424 Words

           

            OXFORD, Miss. – The bike path construction that has been present for the past six months in Oxford is projected to be completed soon.  The construction team on South Lamar has had trouble with the weather and other issues that have caused a delay in the process. They plan to be done by the end of November.

            “The rain messed us up a lot. We also subcontracted with a second company to pour the bike lane, and it wasn’t what we needed so we had to rip it up and pour more,” said Phillip Olivi, a construction worker on the South Lamar project.

            The project on South Lamar was started in March of 2012, and was initially supposed to be done by June of this year. There are many streets around Oxford under the same construction that have had the same delays. But, Olivi said that as of now all the work on South Lamar is expected to be done by the end of November.

            There are mixed thoughts about the lengthy projects from residents that use the roads on a regular basis. Many people are bothered by the hold ups in the afternoons. But, some see the bright side of the situation like John Jordan Proctor, who lives in a neighborhood off of South Lamar.

            “If all the cars have to be held up for a few months to make biking in Oxford easier and safer so be it. It’s going to open a lot more people up to living a less wasteful life, and not to mention make the ride down South Lamar much less terrifying for the biking community,” Proctor said.

            Although the creation of the bike paths will definitely improve many aspects of the Oxford community, there are many locals that are bothered by the problem. Many believe that the delays have been caused by the lack of professionalism in the work crew. Olivi said that in total about a mile of bike path had to be ripped up due to poor planning and consideration of the weather and other factors.

            The construction sites are on Old Taylor Road, South Lamar, and College Hill Road. Some people haven’t left or entered their neighborhood in five or six months without having to wait on traffic. Many regular users of South Lamar have resorted to traveling to and from Highway six by taking Highway seven, said Proctor. The projects will be done soon enough and everything will be back to normal, except better. 

Source Contact Information:
           1. Phillip Olivi - 662-902-2099
           2. John Jordan Proctor - 662-822-3348