Special to The Mississippi Link
JACKSON – The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) recently held a groundbreaking ceremony in Pontotoc County to mark the beginning of construction on the State Route 9 (SR 9) improvement project, according to Northern District Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert.
The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Aug. 11, at the Eutaw’s Construction Lot, at 2993 Dozier Hill Road, in Belden.
The Department is upgrading approximately 10 miles of State Route 9 in Pontotoc County to accommodate increasing traffic and support economic development projects in the area.
According to Tagert, meeting economic development needs is a key component to MDOT’s transportation improvement projects. Tagert said State Route 9 will meet the economic development need for improved access to the new Blue Springs Toyota manufacturing facility, from the west and southwest.
“The State Route 9 project is important to the Pontotoc area for several reasons,” Tagert said. “The new four-lane section of roadway will make the route safer for the traveling public and allow the road to accommodate increased truck traffic. The project will improve access to the new Toyota manufacturing facility in Blue Springs and be an asset for attracting new private investment to the region.”
Roadway improvements will begin at the interchange of SR 9 and U.S.278/SR 6 near Pontotoc and will proceed on a new route – east of the existing SR 9 – reconnecting near Sherman, according to MDOT engineers.
The new 10-mile section of roadway will be four lanes, with the exception of the tie-ins near Pontotoc and Sherman, and will feature a 101-foot wide median. The access for the new section of roadway will be Type 2B, which is partially controlled access, where access is permitted at crossovers and at-grade crossings with county roads.
There will be one interchange at Endville Road, as well as, grade separations at Dozier Hill Road and Eads Creek Road. The remainder of the county road crossings will be at-grade crossings.
In order to accelerate the construction process, MDOT chose to use the design-build process, which means the contractor is responsible for both the design and construction of the project. The design-build process allows the design phase and the construction phase to overlap to streamline the process and expedite the completion of projects.
Bids were received for the project on May 9, with the “Best Value Proposal” submitted by Eutaw Construction Company. The “notice to proceed” was issued on July 5, and the scheduled completion date is December 2012.
The total contract amount for the project is $87,468,382.
The initial phases of the project have already been completed, according to MDOT officials, with the environmental assessment completed in October 2009.
MDOT has also completed the right-of-way plans, acquisition maps/deeds, acquired or gained right-of-entry on all 95 parcels, relocated all 29 properties and coordinated with all affected utility companies.
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