SOUTHAVEN, MS (abc24.com) - Traffic jams and complete congestion in Mississippi. I-55 is the road to avoid at all costs anytime there's a big event in Southaven.
There's only one exit at Church Road for thousands of cars to get to the Landers Center. The highway backs up quickly.
"Miles and miles of traffic back up," says planning director Whitney Choat-Cook. "It's definitely an issue."
"It's so congested down here," says Kisha Landfair.
When something's going on at the Landers Center, it's a guarantee traffic will be trouble. It's been a nuisance, annoying drivers for years. Both MDOT and the city of Southaven are finally looking at solutions.
"We're doing traffic studies now to determine if there needs to be extra lanes, if there needs to be deceleration lanes, acceleration lanes, two right hand turn lanes, just how we need to improve it," says Choat-Cook.
In another year or two, the interchange will get even more crowded. The town's new outlet mall is being built right across the street.
"MDOT is looking at widening and working on the interchange," says Mayor Greg Davis.
"To ensure that when the mall comes in, traffic won't cluster up like it's doing now," adds Choat-Cook. "It may need better traffic control. We may have to sync lights better. That's just something for the traffic engineers to determine. They are taking it into account as they go forward with the plans on the mall."
Work is a long way off, but the ball has started rolling on keeping drivers rolling.
