By By William F. West / community editor
March 28, 2003
Motorists accustomed to the pitter-patter sounds while driving on the westbound concrete lanes of Interstate 20/59 between Russell to Meridian will hear them no more.
The lanes, worn by heavy traffic over the years, were being paved with asphalt Thursday by workers from APAC of Mississippi.
In some places, dirt had washed out from under the concrete slabs, leaving them so unstable that they rocked under the constant pounding of car and truck traffic.
The stability problem has been corrected by pumping concrete underneath the slabs, said John Sims, an engineer project assistant with the Mississippi Department of Transportation's Meridian office.
Interstates in Mississippi were generally built in the 1960s and 70s as concrete superhighways, but have since been paved over with asphalt.
The westbound lanes of 1-20/59 from Russell to Meridian, about 6 miles, was one of the last all-concrete stretches from that era in Mississippi.
Sims said the lanes held up well over the years.
A 55 mph speed limit is in effect in the work zone; Sims advises motorists to be alert for the presence of workers.
The paving job and other renovations are part of a $10.3 million project to upgrade a 17-mile stretch of I-20/59 from the Mississippi-Alabama line to the east side of Meridian.
Sims said plans call for completing the project by April 25. Work began in April 2001.
In other MDOT news, officials could be moving ahead on renovating an antiquated pair of weigh stations east of the Kewanee interchange.
APAC is the lowest of four bidders at about $13.6 million, said Gary McDill, district maintenance engineer with MDOT's Newton district office.
McDill said the bid is nearly 15 percent higher than MDOT's projected cost of the project. But he said MDOT will recommend to the state transportation commission that APAC be awarded the project.
Plans include installing a state-of-the-art system so trucks can be weighed while in motion. The stations are closed.
The commission's next meeting is April 8. McDill said if the commission agrees to award the project to APAC, then the company will have until June 15, 2005 to complete the project.