Hinds County Projects Moving Forward
A bridge replacement project is planned for the Interstate 20 eastbound bridge between Terry Road and Gallatin Street in Hinds County. Work will primarily focus on the I-20 eastbound bridge that spans U.S. Highway 51, Interstate 55 south and Canadian National/Illinois Central Railroad (ICRR). A new bridge will be built on a new alignment, which will keep closures to a minimum during construction. When work is completed, the existing bridge will be demolished.
Additional work in the project includes slide repairs, slope stabilization along the ICRR and traffic sensor installations within Hinds and Rankin counties. Crews will also widen the roadway along I-20 eastbound and U.S. 51 north for the new bridge alignment. The $42.2-million project was awarded to Key, LLC, with a notice to proceed date of March 12, 2020. Work is expected to be complete by summer 2022.
I-20 interchange improvements at Norrell Road remain underway. The $26.8-million project was awarded to Joe McGee Construction Company. The project will provide a new layout for the interchange while realigning and widening the frontage and local roads. All major bridge construction has been completed. The bridge on the east side of I-20 has been widened to the north and south sides. Crews are paving the west side of the new frontage road bridge, and dirt work on the south ramps, new loop and interstate widening has begun.
The overlay of approximately 10 miles of I-55, including both northbound and southbound frontage roads, from the Copiah County Line to Byram continues making progress. Work includes pressure grouting, joint repair and guardrail installation. The contractor is W.E. Blain & Sons, Inc., with a contract amount of $15.4 million. All pressure grouting has been completed and portions of the west frontage road have been paved. Remaining work is on track to be completed by fall 2020.
The upgrades taking place on State Route 18 from Raymond to I-20 are nearly complete. All milling, paving, trench-widening and guardrail installation is complete. The additional turn lane at Siwell Road is open to traffic. Rumble strips have been ground in shoulders throughout the project. Crews are repairing concrete and grinding asphalt for smoothness. The project was awarded to Dickerson & Bowen at an amount of $8.77 million and expected to be complete by summer.
Infrastructure Improvements Continue in Madison and Rankin Counties
A major infrastructure improvement project to reconstruct and widen nearly eight miles of U.S. Highway 49 continues in Rankin County. Traffic has switched to the completed Phase I. Phase II, which includes bridge, roadway and drainage work, remains underway.
During Phase III, the existing concrete pavement and the median will be removed. Some Phase III work in the median north of Lyle Machinery is underway. During Phase IV, the final phase, all paving and striping will be completed. There will be three travel lanes and a shoulder in each direction. The $151-million project was awarded to W.G. Yates & Son Construction Company.
A project to mill and overlay five miles of State Route 471 between Grant’s Ferry Road and State Route 25 remains underway in Rankin County. Crews have repaired areas of failed asphalt, and work remains on track to be completed by summer 2020. Dickerson & Bowen was awarded the $2.5-million contract.
Crews continue making headway on the I-55 north bridge widening over the Interstate 220 ramp. The project will widen the existing bridge on I-55 over the I-220 northbound to I-55 northbound ramp to provide for the additional lane. The ramps at the I-55 northbound to I-220 southbound and I-55 northbound to the Natchez Trace interchanges will be modified to incorporate the additional lane.
The project also includes milling and overlaying I-55 northbound lanes from County Line Road to the Natchez Trace, the west frontage road between Old Agency Road and Steed Road, the roundabout at Old Agency, the northeast loop from I-55 to Old Agency, the northwest loop from Old Agency to I-55 and the southwest ramp from Old Agency to I-55. Key Constructors, LLC, was awarded the $12.4-million project.
Bridge Maintenance in Lauderdale County
A bridge preservation project on U.S. Highway 80 over Cow Creek and Tallhatta Creek in Lauderdale County will soon be underway. The project consists of removing any unsound concrete from steel pile encasements, abrasive blasting, painting, pouring new pile encasements and replacing end walls at end bents on the Tallahatta Creek Bridge.
On the Cow Creek Bridge, work consists of installing girder support plates, replacing mid-span diaphragms, installing new steel risers, abrasive blasting/painting and replacing unsound concrete with epoxy mortar. The contractor is Gibson and Associates and the total contract amount is $2.9 million. The project is scheduled for completion by summer 2021.
System Preservation Projects Near Completion
A project to mill and overlay approximately six miles of I-20/I-59 through Meridian is nearing completion. The project calls for repairs to be made at several failed areas, signal hardware updates and guardrail replacement on the mainline interstate route from the 65th Avenue bridge to U.S. Highway 45. Remaining operations include end wall repairs, removal of the existing bridge armor and placement of preformed joint sealant. APAC Mississippi was awarded the project for a total bid amount of $13 million. Remaining work is expected to be complete by summer 2020.
The mill and overlay of approximately 11 miles of existing asphalt on U.S. Highway 11 from Russell to the Alabama state line is nearly complete. The project includes the repair of failed areas, shoulder repair, widening the existing roadway, rumble strip placement and guardrail replacement. The cleaning and filling of concrete joints is complete. Once weather allows, crews will place permanent stripe and perform final cleanup. All work is on track to be complete by summer 2020. APAC Mississippi was awarded the contract at an amount of just over $5 million.
