Overlay created to manage growth on new Woodford Way

TUPELO, Miss. (WTVA) – The City of Tupelo is aiming to prevent a new road from becoming another North Gloster Street.

Tupelo has created the Town Creek Overlay District to manage traffic and growth along Woodford Way, a new road designed to ease congestion on North Gloster Street.

Woodford Way is in its third week of being open, offering drivers an alternative route on the north side of the city’s retail shopping district.

North Gloster Street experiences traffic tie-ups and gridlock on weekends, particularly during the holiday shopping season.

What the overlay district controls

The city created the Town Creek Overlay District earlier this year. An overlay is a master plan cities use to control growth and infrastructure.

Woodford Way is part of the Town Creek Overlay District.

The $13 million road runs behind Target and connects Commonwealth Boulevard to Barnes Crossing.

The city will control traffic and growth by determining where access driveways to new businesses will be located.

The plan also involves limiting the number of traffic signals on Woodford Way and placing them in strategic locations to help traffic flow.

City engineer describes traffic goals

Tupelo City Engineer Dennis Bonds said the new road will change conditions for North Gloster drivers, especially during the holidays.

“You go out there during the holiday, during a shopping weekend, and Gloster probably reaches what we call a level F, which is, of course, worst case, almost a gridlock condition. So that’s what we’re trying to make sure we prevent. And by setting the right things in place on Woodford Way, we can prevent that in the future,” Bonds said.

The city said traffic signals will be installed on Woodford Way once the traffic threshold is met. The locations of those signals have not yet been determined.