MDOT outlines Star Landing options

The environmental assessment for the proposed Star Landing Corridor project is meant to identify potential impacts and use the information to guide planners, engineers and local officials in determining the best locations and design alternatives for the road.

In addition to residential impacts, assessment areas include highway traffic noise, air quality, threatened and endangered species, community cohesion and connectivity, historic sites and archaeology, land-use changes, and wetlands and floodplains.

Here are the alternatives being considered for Star Landing Road:

Alternative A: This is the no-build option, the impact if nothing is done.

Alternatives B, C and D: Initial routes developed by planners involve widening to the north, widening to the south, and widening symmetrically about the centerline.

Alternatives E and F: Follow-up views involving combinations of B, C and D based on the best fit for specific areas.

Mississippi Department of Transportation guidelines allow for two types of roadways for a route of Star Landing’s scope:

Type II, a boulevardtype road with four lanes of traffic divided by a raised median. Access would be restricted to local roads and crossovers, or places that do U-turns, that would be placed at approximately equal intervals.

Type II tends to be safer than Type III, allows for easier traffic flow and better air quality, promotes more of “a sense of place,” say planners, accommodates sidewalks and bicycle lanes and generally is more attractive for economic development. However, it’s more expensive to build, costs more for upkeep and requires more right of way.

Type III, a five-lane highway where access is not limited. Every house or property could have a driveway that opens up onto the road. While access is greater, drawbacks are that it’s less safe because of more accidentinducing conflict points, and it’s slower for traffic because of the many driveways and entries.

(MDOT’s Type I is reserved for interstate-style highways.)