TUPELO, MS — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) continues preservation and maintenance projects on highways and bridges in northeast Mississippi.An $81-million project is under construction to build a nearly nine-mile extension of State Route 76 in Itawamba County. Crews are currently clearing land, performing earthwork, and installing drainage. Construction of four bridges at Chubby Creek has also begun. Piles have been driven, and decks are being built. The project stretches from State Route 23 to State Route 25. The contract was awarded in March to Eutaw Construction Company, Inc.. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.A $4.8-million project to improve two U.S. Highway 82 interchanges at 18th Avenue and Military Road continues in Columbus. At the Military Road interchange, crews are currently constructing two full roundabouts and median curbs. Once the roundabouts are completed, a new course of asphalt will be laid through the project area. To accommodate the roundabouts, the interchange ramps will be realigned. The westbound exit ramp will also be widened to include a new travel lane. At the 18th Avenue interchange, ramps were realigned and widened. A new signal was installed, and paving has been completed. Permanent striping remains to be completed. The interchange project was awarded to Gregory Construction Services, Inc..On State Route 6, a project will install two new J-turn intersections. One J-turn will be built at Rocky Ford Road and a second at State Route 345. At Rocky Ford, crews are rebuilding the crossover. Paving and permanent striping work also remains. At SR 345, final paving and striping remains to be completed. The $5.2-million project was awarded to Talbot Brothers Construction Company.Elsewhere in the district, a bridge replacement project is underway in Chickasaw County. The $4.2-million project will replace bridges over Chewawah Creek and Cane Creek on State Route 389. The bridges are being built on a new alignment which will minimize impacts to traffic. Both bridges are complete and paving has begun on the new alignment. The contractor is Ausbern Construction Company, Inc..A $2.4-million bridge preservation project on U.S. Highway 45 over Kansas City Southern Railroad is underway in Alcorn County. The project includes hydrodemolition and replacement of the southbound bridge deck, repairs on the northbound bridge, joint sealing, bearing and beam repairs, and coating of structural steel. Work is ongoing on the southbound side. The project was awarded to Southern Road & Bridge, LLC and is expected to be completed in summer 2021.Four bridges along Interstate 22 in Lee County are part of a $5.7-million bridge preservation and paving project. The bridge work includes joint repair, joint sealing, and repair of bridge concrete. Five miles of I-22, from State Route 178 to U.S. 45, have been repaved as part of the project. The project was awarded to APAC-Mississippi Inc..