National Guard lends road-building capability to Mississippi State

A score of olive drab bulldozers, graders, and other heavy earthmoving machines rumbled 13 hours a day last summer at Mississippi State as Mississippi National Guard engineers turned a stretch of hilly university terrain into a new campus entrance road.

More than 50 members of Company C of the 223rd Engineer Combat Battalion spent their annual two-week summer training exercise building the roadbed base for what will become a three-quarter mile main approach to the central campus.

Earthmoving and maintenance platoons, along with a detachment from the headquarters platoon, represented about half of the Charleston-based company.

The troops lived in campus residence halls and ate breakfast and supper at the Perry Cafeteria. Lunch was prepared by University Dining Services and delivered to the worksite.

MSU also provided the approximately 1,200 gallons of fuel consumed during each 7 a.m.-8 p.m. workday by the earthmoving equipment and support vehicles.

"We are immensely grateful for the assistance of the Mississippi National Guard with this important project," said President Malcolm Portera. "Company C performed an incredible amount of high-quality work in a very short time and its efforts translate into a very substantial cost savings for the university."

"Members of Company C were extremely honored to be part of an endeavor such as this," said Capt. Ken R. Nance, company commander. "This was an excellent project where we could train for our mission and increase our state of readiness. The university's administration and staff enhanced our performance ability by being extremely accommodating to our logistical needs."

Expected to be completed by fall 1999, MSU's new north entrance road will link U.S. Highway 82 at the entrance of the Mississippi Research and Technology Park to the center of campus. The planned four-lane boulevard will pass within a stone's throw of Chadwick Lake and the newly completed Joe Frank Sanderson Center, an indoor fitness and recreation facility.