MDOT projects continue in county
The shelter in place order that has kept most Mississippians at home for the past five weeks has been a double-edged sword for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
Willie Simmons, elected as Transportation Commissioner for Mississippi's Central District in November, said the reduced traffic on roads has allowed crews to complete more work than they normally would. But the potential budget shortfall resulting from lower gas tax collections creates a serious challenge.
"The good news is the members of the crews are able to practice safe social distancing because of the nature of the work," Simmons said. "The bad news is the safety they have enjoyed from less traffic on the roads comes at a cost. People are buying less gasoline, and that's going to have a massive negative impact on our budget going forward."
MDOT is unlike any other state agency in that it relies on funds that come directly from the citizens by way of the gas tax, which generates around $350 million of the department's $1.25 billion annual budget.
Simmons said the Transportation Commission is in the process of completing an internal review of the impact COVID-19 has had, or will have, on the agency, but early returns show gas consumption is down somewhere between 40 and 60 percent since Gov. Tate Reeves announced Mississippi's first shelter in place order on April 1.
If Mississippians continue to consume the same amount of gasoline for the rest of the year, it could mean a budget shortfall to the tune of $175 million or more, he said. Once the existing money in the budget runs out, MDOT will have to change its five-year plans and delay important projects.
"Eventually, we will get to the point where we will have to delay starting new projects and turn our focus to mostly maintenance," he said. "Those new projects mostly benefit areas that are growing, so it's a major concern for us right now."
Simmons said he believes there will be some funding set aside from the federal CARES Act, which allocated nearly $1.25 billion to Mississippi for relief related to the COVID-19 pandemic, but acknowledged that requesting funding for roads and bridges would likely be an uphill battle.
"We should have our review completed in the next day or so," Simmons said. "At that point, we plan to sit down with the Lt. Governor, the House Speaker and the Governor and make them aware of the impact the reduced revenue is having on us."
Even if the shelter in place order ends tomorrow, the department will still have to make up a budget shortfall from nearly two months of reduced revenue from gas sales.
While many in Mississippi have stayed home, road crews, deemed "essential" by state leaders, have been hard at work on MDOT projects in Madison County.
The agency is currently at work on six projects in Madison County. Most are related to I-55, the crucial north-south corridor that connects Madison County to Jackson and provides ingress and egress for commuters.
The biggest project was road widening, overlay and milling on I-55 from County Line Road to the Natchez Trace Parkway. Work is nearly complete on widening the interstate northbound flyover under the I-220 bridge. MDOT released a statement Tuesday saying it would close the left lane on I-55 North from I-220 to the Trace in order to complete the rest of that widening.
That stretch of I-55 experiences an average of nearly 120,000 vehicles per day, according to MDOT.
The other major part of that project is milling and overlay on the west frontage road between Old Agency Parkway and Steed Road, the roundabout at Old Agency and Highland Colony Parkway, the southwest ramp from Old Agency to I-55 and the northeast loops from I-55 to Old Agency. All of this is scheduled to be completed by the end of the summer. Simmons said that work should keep the impacted roads viable in terms of handling future growth in the area.
"That is the kind of project we would like to see happen for all our communities in Mississippi," Simmons said. "Madison County is just fortunate to be in a good location and have good local leadership in place. From the Board of Supervisors to the mayors to the county's economic development authority, they have worked together as a team. It's a perfect situation, and one that, as commissioner, I love to see."
Future MDOT projects planned for Madison County include replacing four bridges on Hwy. 51, mill and overlay work on several different portions of Hwy. 463 and, in 2023, more work on the split diamond interchange connecting I-55 to Hwy. 51 in Madison via Madison Avenue.
Active (all 2020)
- SR 463 over I-55 bridge maintenance
- US 51 over Big Black River bridge repair
- I-55 over SR 22 bridge preservation
- US 51 bridge replacements
- US 51 mill & overlay from Dinkins St. to SR 16 W
- SR 46 mill and overlay 3 from 2 lane to east of Main Street
Planned
2020
- US 51 bridge replacement
- US 51 bridge replacement
- Prep of cost/benefit analysis (I-55 Madison)
2021
- I-55 over RR and US 51 bridge widening
- I-55 W Frontage Rd bridge preservation
- I-55 mill overlay from 2 miles N of SR22 to Yazoo County line
2022
- SR 22 mill & overlay from SR 463 to beginning of 5-lane
- US 51 bridge replacement
2023
- SR 463 mill & overlay from 2 lane to east of Main Street
- I-55 "split-diamond" interchange (Madison connector to US 51)
2024
- US 51 bridge replacement