Great River Road to be studied

The Great River Road, an asphalt artery winding through America's heartland in the shadow of the Mississippi River, is getting special attention these days from Mississippi State historians, archaeologists and social scientists.

The state Department of Transportation is funding a $210,000 research project that will help visitors better understand the roadway's areas within the Magnolia State.

"We are doing an archaeological and historical survey of sites of interest," said MSU history department head Charles D. Lowery. "The result will be recommendations for new tourist centers, historical markers and other improvements to provide a better understanding of the history and archaeology of the route."

A patchwork of federal, state and local routes, the Great River Road snakes through forests, swamps and small towns, paralleling the river-sometimes at stretches of 20 miles-from its headwaters near the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico. Often confusing to motorists, the highway includes sections simultaneously claiming Great River Road status on the east and west sides of the river.

In addition to Lowery, the Mississippi State team includes research scientist Jay Ritchie of the Social Science Research Center and John W. O'Hear, the Cobb Institute of Archaeology's curator of research collections.