HATTIESBURG, MS — Commissioner Tom King, Southern Transportation District, announces updates to several Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) projects in south Mississippi.

“In 2023, you can count on seeing more infrastructure work being done in South Mississippi,” King said. “Thanks to additional resources, more MDOT projects have been approved than ever before. These new projects will increase safety and efficiency for the traveling public throughout the region. We are proud of the work that has been accomplished and look forward to making even more progress.”

Work will begin in spring 2023 on a $212.6 million project to grade, drain, bridge, and pave approximately nine miles of State Route 57 from I-10 to Vancleave. A portion of the project will involve widening SR 57 from two to four lanes along the existing route from I-10 to Gautier-Vancleave Road. A new four-lane alignment for SR 57 will be constructed connecting it from Gautier-Vancleave Road to the Lake O’Pines area. The project will alleviate congestion in the area and expand the capacity of the roadway, which is a hurricane evacuation route.

The project was awarded to W.G. Yates and Sons Construction Company of Jackson and is expected to wrap up in 2027.

Following damage sustained by Hurricane Zeta, a project is ongoing in Harrison and Hancock Counties to repair or replace traffic signals and information technology equipment, returning it to a fully functional condition. The contractor will repair damage at communication infrastructure locations. Signal and information technology equipment will undergo repairs at 42 intersections along U.S. 90 from Bay St. Louis to Biloxi.

This nearly $5 million project was awarded to Webster Electric of Collinsville. Work is expected to be complete in late 2023.

A similar project will soon be underway in Harrison County to repair or replace traffic signals and information technology equipment. Work will take place at 51 signalized intersections along U.S. 49, I-10, I-110, State Route 605, and State Route 67.

This $3.4 million project was awarded to Powell Construction of Magee and is expected to begin spring 2023.

A safety improvement project is underway in Forrest County. This $66.7 million project stretches 14 miles from the Lamar County line to just south of Moselle.

Rubblization is ongoing in the outside southbound and northbound lanes from mile marker 76 to 80. Traffic will soon be placed in a head-to-head configuration to rubblize pavement adjacent to the bridges near mile marker 78. During the course of the project, unsuitable dirt was discovered underneath existing pavement. To correct the issue, the dirt was replaced, and earthwork is taking place in the area. This project was awarded to Dunn Roadbuilders and is expected to be complete in 2024.

A safety improvement project on U.S. 49 is nearing completion in Forrest County. The project stretches from the Stone County line to South Gate Road. Grading work is taking place in the median, and pavement is being placed in the crossovers.

This $41 million contract was awarded to T.L. Wallace Construction of Columbia and is expected to wrap up in spring 2023.

A bridge replacement project is underway to replace the State Route 42 bridge over Tallahalla Creek in Perry County. Earthwork is taking place, and crews are driving piles and setting drill shafts.

This $17 million project was awarded to Cotton Creek Transport of Laurel. The bridge replacement is expected to be completed in fall 2023.

A $14.4 million reconstruction project stretching from Cayten Street to Lakeshore Drive on U.S. 11 in Pearl River County is now complete. This $14.4 million project was awarded to Barriere Construction Company, LLC of Franklinton, Louisiana.

The second phase of construction is set to begin in late 2023 and will include the construction of a new bridge over the East Hobolochitto Creek, which will have shoulders and include a protected sidewalk with a concrete barrier for pedestrians. The entire project is estimated to be completed in 2025.

An overlay project to pave five miles of U.S. 90 in Hancock County from Rifle Range Road to Lower Bay Road will begin in 2023. This $6 million project was awarded to Huey P. Stockstill of Picayune and is expected to wrap up in summer 2023.