Stimulus funds design-build project

by Wally Northway

Published: July 30,2009

Tags: construction, state agency, stimulus, transportation

PEARL RIVER COUNTY — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has selected a design-build contractor to oversee a bridge-widening project along Interstate 59 in Pearl River County.

The $10-million project was awarded to T. L. Wallace Construction Company Inc of Columbia.

MDOT District Six area engineer Kelly Castleberry said that awarding the project with the design-build process allows for design and construction to be implemented concurrently on this critical section of infrastructure.

“This design-build process will speed up construction, which is important because Interstate 59 is one of the locations in Mississippi where contraflow may be implemented in the event of a hurricane,” said Castleberry. “The addition of shoulders to all bridges along I-59 is a necessity because those bridges are not wide enough to accommodate the emergency vehicles associated with contraflow. The project will also increase the efficiency of the interstate for daily vehicular traffic.”

Crews are scheduled to begin the bridge replacement project in August. Completion is scheduled for Sept. 2010.

The project is 100 percent federally funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. An estimated $27.5 billion will go toward roadway and bridge improvements.

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