Expect lane closures on North State Street from Sheppard Road to Briarwood Drive as construction to improve the road is under way.
Drivers are asked to use caution in the area as traffic may be reduced to one lane in each direction during construction.
The project involves removing the existing surface and adding a new overlay, said Charles Wililams, Ph.D., public works director for the city of Jackson. Sidewalks will be added in some places to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and some driveway repair or replacement is also included.
W.E. Blaine & Sons is handling the $1.07 million project, which should be completed this fall, he said.
W.E. Blaine & Sons was the lowest of the four bids the city of Jackson received. APAC provided a bid of $1.13 million; Dickerson & Bowen, $1.15 million and AJ Construction, $1.27 million.
The city of Jackson is providing $269,940 for the project with the rest coming from the federal government.
Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons joined Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba and other officials for a ribbon cutting ceremony last December for the reconstruction of State Street in Jackson.
The $19.5 million project included total reconstruction of two miles of North State Street stretching from Hartfield Street to Sheppard Road. The project also included a 10-foot wide multi-use path and landscaping.
In the section from Hartfield Street to Choctaw Road, the street was reduced to two 11- to 12-foot travel lanes. A 10-foot multi-use path was added along with a three-foot strip of greenery separating the path from a two-foot curb and gutter.
On the second section, from Choctaw Road to Northside Drive, the reconstruction included two 12-foot travel lanes, a 12-foot turn lane, 10-foot pathway and two-foot curb and gutter. The sidewalk is separated from the street by the curb and gutter.
From Hartfield Street to Northside Drive, the pathway is located on the east side of the street.
On the third section, from Northside Drive to Sheppard Road, the sidewalk is located on the west side of the roadway.
A three-foot green strip and two-foot curb and gutter separate the sidewalk from traffic.
The project was funded with a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant from the Federal Highway Administration and appropriated by the Mississippi Department of Transportation It was awarded to Hemphill Construction Company of Florence.
TIGER grants are competitive and awarded to projects which have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area. TIGER programs use rigorous, multi-modal selection criteria and the results of economic analysis to select projects and track the effectiveness of investments through project-specific performance measurement plans.
