JACKSON, Miss. — The Mississippi Department of Transportation is set to begin a project that the agency says will relieve peak drive time congestion on Interstate 55 in Madison County, which is immediately north of Jackson.
“There is a bottleneck that develops during peak drive times on I-55 northbound entering Madison County,” said DOT Commissioner Dick Hall of the Central Transportation District and chairman of the Mississippi Transportation Commission. “This project will widen the interstate and relieve the current bottleneck, which will decrease congestion and drive times and improve safety for the traveling public.”
The approximately $12.3 million project was awarded to Key LLC of Madison and will widen, mill and overlay I-55 northbound from County Line Road to the Natchez Trace Parkway. The project will also widen the I-55 northbound bridge under the bridge to I-220 southbound.
The project will also address drainage issues on the West Frontage Road between Old Agency Road and Steed Road by removing and replacing existing curb and gutter. Lane closures will be necessary to perform this work. Additionally, the west end of Old Agency Road through the roundabout at Renaissance shopping center to the end of state maintenance.
“The work taking place around Renaissance will begin next week and is scheduled to be complete before Thanksgiving and the holiday shopping season begins,” Hall said.
The work on I-55 is not scheduled to begin until after the work on the West Frontage Road is complete. However, the traveling public will begin seeing construction signs placed along I-55 in preparation for work to begin.
Once work begins on I-55, lane closures will be necessary. Most lane closures will occur at night to reduce the impact to traffic.
“This project will significantly reduce congestion and increase safety on a heavily traveled section of I-55 in the Jackson-Metro area,” Hall said. “We ask for the traveling public’s patience as this project progresses and urge motorists to exercise extreme caution by slowing down and avoiding distractions in construction zones.”
The DOT expects the entire project to be complete by fall 2020.
Work zones present new traffic patterns and configurations that may be unfamiliar to motorists. For information about how to navigate highway work zones safely, visit www.GoMDOT.com/drivesmartms.
For more information about these or other MDOT maintenance and construction projects, visit www.MDOTtraffic.com, call Mississippi 511, download the free MDOT Traffic app or like and follow @MississippiDOT on Facebook and Twitter.
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