Although the entire Willie Morris Parkway is still a few weeks away from being completed, a portion of it was opened this week to relieve some traffic.
The western end of the parkway from Highway 3 towards Yazoo Valley Electric Association was opened Tuesday at the recommendation of city engineer Wayne Morrison.
“This is still almost like what Gordon Avenue used to be from Highway 3 down to Yazoo Valley,” Morrison said, during Monday’s city council meeting. “We would just barricade the four-lane section and also keep it barricaded at Clubview.”
There are a few minor issues along the western end that need to be addressed. But Morrison said it’s nothing that would keep that portion from being reopened to the public.
“There are some items down there that need to be addressed but its like pipes clogged up with mud,” he said. “But those are things not under traffic, not under the road. They are off on the side of the road. You can have equipment over there working on that and not interfere with the traffic.”
Morrison said there is no reason why the western end cannot be opened.
“That is where your high demand is,” Morrison said. “The high school buses get relief. Warren Mental Health has 85 employees. Yazoo Valley and Manchester get traffic relief.”
The remaining portion of the project will remain closed to the public for now.
Morrison said there are about 45 items that the project contractor needs to address on the four-lane section of the highly anticipated parkway.
“We may be finished with those in a short amount of time,” Morrison added. “(The contractor) is mobilizing two crews tomorrow to work on these items. We have given two weeks for him to do that. We are then anticipating an official ribbon cutting ceremony.”
Morrison said he anticipates the entire parkway to be opened after the first of October.
Construction work also began on WalMart this week with work crews in constant motion on the site. The store is tentatively scheduled to open in April of 2017.
