By By William F. West / community editor
Oct. 10, 2002
Work could be completed by spring 2004 on the four-laning of a nine-mile stretch of U.S. 45 from south of Quitman to south of Shubuta.
The project, part of Mississippi's 1987 statewide four-lane highway program, will include a new bypass around Shubuta. The project is part of Mississippi's plan to widen U.S. 45 from the Tennessee to Alabama state lines.
The Quitman-to-Shubuta stretch originally had an August 2003 completion date.
But Red Stringfellow, a project engineer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said he anticipates a 2004 completion because of an increased amount of construction work and weather conditions.
Stringfellow said Dunn Roadbuilders of Laurel, a paving specialist, has a contract for more than $13 million to finish the job from Quitman past Shubuta.
When completed, the Shubuta bypass will link with six miles of U.S. 45 that already has been four-laned from south of the town to just north of Waynesboro.
Dunn Roadbuilding is paving a new bypass around Waynesboro, said Mark Smith, a resident engineer with MDOT. He said the Waynesboro bypass will include an interchange with U.S. 84.
The Waynesboro bypass is expected to be completed in March 2003 at a total cost of $25 million, including the grading work, he said.
Smith said that Dunn Roadbuilders is also working on four-laning a 13-mile stretch of U.S. 45 from south of Waynesboro to near the State Line community just west of Alabama.
That project, he said, is expected to be completed in May 2005 at a total cost of more than $29 million, including the grading.
Smith said plans call for MDOT to hire a company next month to build a bypass around State Line. The bypass will link with Highway 57 giving motorists a direct route to Pascagoula by Highway 57 and Highway 63.
Meanwhile, the majority of U.S. 45 remains two lanes in Alabama.
Alabama Department of Transportation Director Paul Bowlin was unavailable on Wednesday for questions about his state's plans for U.S. 45 from Mississippi to Mobile.