The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) has begun construction works on a new four-lane highway segment of State Route 76 in Itawamba County. The project is a nearly 15km extension of SR 76 from SR 23 to SR 25. Crews began clearing right-of-way on Martin Road, about a half mile north of Fairview Banner Road.
SR 76 forms is a part of the Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) in Mississippi. The project will complete the final portion of ADHS Corridor V, which runs from Interstate 55 in Batesville to Interstate 24 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, connecting intermodal facilities in the three states, including the Port of Huntsville and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
Corridor V links automotive and furniture manufacturing industries in the Mid-South. The increased capacity will help carry anticipated increases in freight traffic, especially between Toyota in Blue Springs and the Toyota-Mazda site in Huntsville, Alabama. Currently, a 4km four-lane section of Corridor V stretches into Mississippi from Alabama.
Freight traffic along Corridor V currently has to use a 21km section of two-lane SR 23 when traveling from Interstate 22 to Alabama. The new highway will cut four miles off the trip.
According to MDOT Executive Director Melinda McGrath, P.E., MDOT’s number one priority is the safe and efficient movement of goods and people. “This final phase of Corridor V will take freight traffic off two-lane highways and move it to four-lane highways specifically designed for this purpose,” she added.
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Funding of the project
The US $81m project was funded in part by a US $52.4m Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant. The contract was awarded in March to Eutaw Construction Company, Inc., of Aberdeen. Work is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.
While the majority of the work will occur away from existing roads, motorists are reminded to be on high alert for highway workers and equipment in the area. Work zones present new traffic patterns and configurations that may be unfamiliar to motorists.
