Busy downtown street repaving postponed a second time, South MS official says
A $270,000 repaving project on one of Ocean Springs’ busiest streets was postponed for a second time, this time due to equipment issues, according to City Project Manager Sarah Harris.
First slated to begin June 23, the long-anticipated Government Street project was rescheduled for Tuesday morning before being delayed again. Harris confirmed crews are now expected to begin work Monday, August 11, pending no further setbacks.
The work will cover the half-mile stretch of Government Street between Washington Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue. Once construction begins, the road will be reduced to one lane and parking along the route will be prohibited.
The project is part of a broader effort to alleviate traffic congestion and limited parking in the area. Parking lines will be redrawn based on a 2021 traffic study aimed at improving vehicle flow and reducing pinch points.
“Repaving and striping will allow vehicle parking, golf cart parking and the two travel lanes to be laid out more efficiently,” Harris said.
“It will be messy for a week or so, but I think Ocean Springs will be happy with the finished product,” Alderman Karen Stennis said.
Businesses along Government Street will remain open despite the lane closures and parking restrictions.
“You’re going to have to find all the public parking lots that are off Government Street and then walk,” Fat Spoon Cafe employee Tiffany Cannette said. “I think it’ll definitely affect the businesses a lot, especially the ones that don’t own the parking lot.”
“It is an aggravation to them and we’re all sorry about that, but I think the end project will be worth their aggravation,” Mayor Robert “Bobby” Cox said. “In the end, they’ll probably only take a couple days to grind, a couple of days to lay the new asphalt and then it’ll be back to business as normal.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 4:18 PM.
