- Widening roadways, improving traffic flow and more are on tap as work by the Mississippi Department of Transportation ramps up.
The Mississippi Department of Transportation has several projects underway across the state to improve travel along the Magnolia State’s roadways.
Two capacity projects are planned to help ease the flow of travel along Interstate 55 within Madison County and another is intended along State Route 25 in Rankin County.
Funding for the capacity projects was approved through the appropriated funding by the Legislature earlier this year. Lawmakers provided about $150 million to the department, said MDOT Executive Director Brad White during a recent press conference.
The I-55 project will entail widening the corridor to a total of six lanes. It will add a lane in both directions of travel from State Route 463 to Gluckstadt Road, which totals about four miles in either direction.
“Thanks to House Bill 1938, I am thrilled to announce today that we are now able to move forward with widening I-55 in Madison County between SR 463 and Gluckstadt. This project is going to help deal with the bottleneck that we’ve seen in Madison County and assist us in moving traffic by adding two lanes, one going north and one going south,” said Mississippi Transportation Commission Chairman Willie Simmons in a recent statement on the project. “We’re also proud to announce today another project in Rankin County. We’re going to six-lane SR 25 from Grant’s Ferry Rd. to SR 471 in Rankin County, increasing roadway capacity and reducing travel delays along the SR 25 corridor.”
Both projects are expected to alleviate traffic problems that take place during peak traffic times.
“What happens is there’s a lot of bottlenecking that occurs there, especially in the mornings and afternoons for school traffic,” MDOT Central District Public Information Officer Michael Flood told Magnolia Tribune about the work in Madison County.
Advertisement for bids on the Madison County project will begin next month, with the contract being let sometime in September, White said.
“We did a count there and there’s roughly 70,000 drivers that use that part of I-55 in Madison County daily in that four mile stretch there,” Flood described. “A lot of those cars are commuters but there’s also a lot of commercial trucks that use that corridor daily.”
Construction along State Route 25 will also widen it to six lanes in an area that accommodates about 20,000 vehicles daily.
“There’s been a lot of growth and increased demand along State Route 25 in Rankin County. A lot of it is school traffic, but a lot of it is commuters and truck traffic,” Flood said.
White said the State Route 25 project will be advertised for bids starting in August, with the contract being let in September.
Both capacity projects are planned to break ground in the spring of 2027. There are also plans to install lighting in both areas at a later date when the expansion work is complete.
Other projects underway in the state include work along I-59 near Hattiesburg and I-10 along the Gulf Coast.
The I-59 project is a safety improvement project totaling about $66.7 million, running from Forrest to Jones County from the Lamar County line to near Mizell. Flood said most of the paving work is complete, with some asphalt work left from McPhail Road to Mizell along with ramp pavement from I-59 onto Highway 49.
“There’s short duration ramp closures that have occurred at the interchange in order for the contractor to facilitate the work,” Flood explained. “And bridge repair work will also take place as part of the project.”
Work on eight bridges in that project will focus on joint repairs and bearing pad replacements. Motorists should expect lane closures while that work continues until its completion in the fall of this year.
“These repairs have a minimal impact on traffic and will extend the life of these heavily traveled structures,” Flood added.
Widening of I-10 in Hancock and Harrison Counties is also taking place from Diamondhead to County Farm Road near Gulfport as part of a $155 million contract. Flood said a noise barrier has been installed at the Diamondhead exit as part of the project.
“That last list of pavement is being applied on the westbound and eastbound lanes,” Flood added. “It remains on track to be completed in 2027.”
Other projects ongoing in the state include:
- Expansion work along State Route 19 to add two more lanes from House to Tucker in Neshoba County totaling $97.4 million. That project includes construction of nine bridges and is expected to be complete by spring of 2028.
- Replacement of 13 bridges along U.S. 80 in Newton and Lauderdale Counties totaling about $88 million.
- Bridge repairs along I-220 over Lynch Street and I-55 in Madison County totaling about $2.5 million.
- Bridge replacement on State Route 14 over the Hashuqua Creek in Noxubee County totaling $7.4 million.
- Bridge repair over the Noxubee River along State Route 145 totaling $1.4 million.
- Bridge repair over the Chunky River along U.S. 80 totaling $122,000.
