30 years in the making, an $8M Gautier road project now has end in sight. Really.
It’s been 30 years of planning and reconfiguring, but a mile of Martin Bluff Road is about to get wider.
Martin Bluff is a main thoroughfare that runs from Gautier-Vancleave Road to Interstate 10 and beyond to Hickory Hill and other growing subdivisions.
Sidewalks are already in place along much of the road and houses have been demolished to clear the way for widening about a mile from Gautier-Vancleave Road to Martin Bluff Elementary.
A Gulf Coast contractor was given the go-ahead last month to begin the actual widening. The clock starts in January and the completion is expected in mid-2023.
Word from the city is that residents will see erosion control go up this month along that mile. Then next month, workers will begin to relocate water and sewer lines.
When the project is finished, Gautier will have a major upgrade from a two-lane road with open ditches to a road wide enough to accommodate a shoulder with curbs and gutters and a median with intermittent turn bays in the center lane.
There will be sidewalks on both sides for the first mile to Martin Bluff Elementary, then it switches to a single sidewalk for the rest of the project — another 2 1/2 miles up Martin Bluff under I-10 to the Little Bend subdivision.
The sidewalks are a separate project and much of that work is complete, sometimes switching from one side of the road to the other.
In the area that will be wider, sidewalks will run along both sides — a standard sidewalk on one side and a wider, multi-use bike and walking path on the other.
Included in the project is an asphalt overlay of Martin Bluff Road from Roys Road, near the elementary school, north to the frontage road that parallels I-10. That portion of the road is not slated to be widened.
The contractor for the $7.5 million widening is Gulf Breeze Construction, locally owned. And Moran Hauling has been handling the $700,000 sidewalk work.
“The projects are two different contracts and two different funding streams,” said April Havens Stennett, with the city, “though they will be joined.”
The sidewalks are being paid for with an MDOT alternative transportation grant, and funding for widening is pieced together from city money, federal earmarked funds, Gulf Regional Planning Commission funds and MDOT money.
It’s been a long time coming
The project has been under consideration since the early 1990s, likely 1992, when Carroll Clifford was the county supervisor serving Gautier.
The county bought right-of-way for the project before the road was annexed into the city. A former mayor called it one of the most important roads in the city, because it connects Hickory Hill, a fast-growing area, to the heart of Gautier.
The Sun Herald had a story in 2017 saying the work was supposed to be completed in 2016, but would likely begin in 2018.
The 2018 prediction came true as the city bought 24 parcels along Martin Bluff near Gautier-Vancleave Road and in 2018 demolished about a dozen homes and other smaller structures to make way for the widening. It is the largest land acquisition the city has undertaken.
That demolition ended the behind-the-scenes work on the project and let residents along Martin Bluff Road know that the project was really on.
Is it safer?
For those who are concerned that the sidewalks are too close to the roadway, Stennett explained that the distance the sidewalks will be from the road depends on the right-of-way the city owns.
In some areas along Martin Bluff, the right-of-way is tight and the sidewalk may look close to the road bed, she said, but “we’re meeting MDOT requirements. Even the closest still meets MDOT specifications.”
The city did not buy new or additional right-of-way and is working within what it already had acquired.
Where the right-of-way is farther from the road, the sidewalks will be farther, she said.
To put it in perspective, before the sidewalks, people walked in the road or left well-worn paths dangerously close to the road. The city got complaints.
Stennett said Martin Bluff serves a large portion of Gautier’s population with subdivisions and apartment complexes all along it. Traffic is heavy.
“We want to get them in and out easier,” she said.
During the 18 months of construction, Stennett said motorists living north of I-10 would be best served by taking the frontage road. Those living north of Martin Bluff Elementary should consider going north to the frontage road, as well.
The contractor will keep one lane of traffic open at all times during the widening, Stennett said. There will be flagmen posted as Martin Bluff Road gets closer to Gautier-Vancleave Road.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 4:23 PM.
