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Widening of Hwy 7 South Takes a Small Step Closer to Becoming a Reality
By Alyssa Schnugg
News editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com
Mississippi Legislators approved a bill Saturday that gives the Mississippi Department of Transporation $15 million to start on the widening of Highway 7 South in Oxford.
Oxford Mayor Robyn Tannehill announced the funding Tuesday during the Board of Aldermen meeting.
“We are super excited about that,” she said.
The funds will help kick off the project and get it ready to be bid out next year. However, the entire project is expected to cost about $150 million.
Oxford Chief Operating Officer Bart Robinson said the $15 million will go toward relocating utilities, design work and other studies.
“But most important, it shows they are interested in moving the project forward so when it is ready to bid, hopefully, next year they will up the ante,” he said.
City and county officials have been asking to have the highway widened from the Highway 6/7 intersection south to the Highway 7/9 split and down to the Lafayette County line for more than 20 years.
The widening of Highway 7 to four lanes from Belk Boulevard to the Highway 7/9 split was on MDOT’s table more than 11 years ago until MDOT announced in 2015 the project was put on hold.
Many property owners were contacted about MDOT purchasing property for rights-of-way, and some city utilities were moved. Funding had already been set in place for land acquisition and moving utilities. However, the more substantial chunk of the estimated funds needed to begin construction was not made available.
Tannehill said the State Legislators also approved giving Oxford $5 million toward the construction of a new Oxford Police Department.
The Board of Aldermen approved turning the former Enterprise Center into a new police department in 2021 to help the department that is outgrowing its current location on Molly Barr Road. In July 2022, the Board hired McCarty Architects for design work.
The estimated cost for the renovations is about $12 million.
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