TUPELO, MS — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) announces updates on several construction and maintenance projects in northeast Mississippi.
“These projects are vital to our communities in northeast Mississippi, and they wouldn’t be possible without the tremendous level of support we receive from our state legislature and executive branch,” said Matt Dunn, District 1 Engineer.
A $195 million project is underway in Tippah County to construct 10.5 miles of a new four-lane alignment of State Route 15 from Union County to Ripley, Mississippi, and a State Route 2 connector in Blue Mountain, Mississippi.
This project consists of grading, building bridges, and placing drainage structures. The contractor is currently working on clearing and grading the sites for the interchanges at State Route 4, Cotton Gin Road, and County Road 700, along with excavating and installing drainage structures at the State Route 2 interchange.
The contractor has cleared approximately 390 of the 820 total acres on the project. This project will create a bypass around Blue Mountain and Ripley to reduce congestion, decrease drive time, and create a safer four-lane route for travelers.
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The contract was awarded to W.G. Yates & Sons of Jackson, Mississippi. Work is expected to be completed in summer 2028.
A $58.7 million project is underway in Union County to construct nearly 6 miles of new parallel lanes of State Route 15 to complete the four-lane connection from Pontotoc to New Albany, Mississippi.
The contractor has swapped traffic to a section of new lanes to work on Phase 2 bridges and finish applying asphalt on all remaining treated subgrade. The contractor has begun removing driveways that are no longer needed and is working to install shoulder gravel where the asphalt has been placed on the north section of the project.
Crews are also working on paved ditching for erosion control and building box extensions to widen the original highway alignment. This project will be the last section of State Route 15 to be four-laned from Pontotoc to New Albany and will provide a safer and economical route for travelers.
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The contract was awarded to Talbot Brothers Contracting of Nesbit, Mississippi. Work is expected to be completed in spring 2027.
A bridge replacement project is underway to replace the State Route 407 bridges over the Yockanookany River in Choctaw County, which had reached the end of their service life.
The contractor has completed bridge construction and grading the roadways approaching the bridges. Once temperatures warm, the contractor will begin laying asphalt, placing shoulder gravel, guardrail, stripe, and raised pavement markers.
This $5.2 million project was awarded to Ste-Bil Grading of Waterford, Mississippi, and is expected to be completed in summer 2025.
