THE MISSISSIPPI 463 widening project in Madison is behind schedule, with the contract on the first of two phases set to expire in months, an engineer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation said.

“The project is about 22 percent complete right now,” Ricky May said. “The contractor is running behind schedule, but he is planning to catch up as soon as the weather gets better. The contract expires at the end of this summer.”

Dickerson and Bowen of Brookhaven cannot begin above-ground work until weather conditions improve, May said. Dirt and drainage work is complete, but “the next thing they’ll need to do is chemical treatment of the soil. Once they get that done, they can start the above-ground work - the asphalt and finishing curbs.”

That phase of the $6 million widening project runs from I-55 east to Post Oak Road. The second phase, expected to cost about $19 million, will run from Post Oak to U.S. 51, May said.

“Right now, for the second phase, we’re looking at June for a letting date on the contract,” he said.

WORK IN THE FIRST phase, which adds three lanes to the two-lane highway, will include a raised median to just east of Crawford Street, with turn lanes at intersections, and improvements to curbs and gutters, landscaping and sidewalks.

The second phase will include building a bridge over a railroad.

“What’s under construction now is ongoing,” Central District Commissioner Dick Hall said. “They’re not going to be doing much until the rain stops. People get frustrated, but you can’t (build) overnight.

This is major construction, and it’s much more difficult to widen an existing highway. It’s just going to take some time.”

According to MDOT, about 17,000 cars use Mississippi 463 from I-55 to U.S. 51 every day.