I-59 project awarded to Tanner Construction

LAUREL — The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has awarded an $11.6 million contract to Tanner Construction of Jones County to reconstruct two miles of roadway on Interstate 59 from Fourth Avenue to Chantilly Street in Jones County.

Work on the interstate reconstruction project is scheduled to begin in the next week and will include clearing and grubbing along the highway, followed by roadway resurfacing. Along with widening the roadway and bridges, crews will be relocating existing lighting and building retaining walls. Once completed, the highway will have six-foot shoulders on the inside and 12-foot shoulders on the outside along the roadway.

Laurel Mayor Melvin Mack said the city looks forward to the installation of the new lighting, which is a part of the project.

The I-59 project is estimated to take about a year to complete.