MDOT’s contract will call for improvements at the Southwest Avenue, Fashion Way, Pratts Road and Ripley Road intersections.
At long last, a dangerous stretch of highway in Baldwyn is finally a major step closer to getting safety upgrades.
The contract is expected to be let later this month for a section of Hwy. 45 in Baldwyn that has been plagued by accidents, including two fatal wrecks in the last year.
According to Jason Scott, Public Information Officer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), the project is expected to be let to contract on September 27, with construction taking a year to complete.
The combined project calls for the following improvements:
- A 24-hour traffic light at the intersection of Highway 45 and Southwest Avenue (County Road 2878);
- A 24-hour traffic light at the intersection of Highway 45 and Pratts Road;
- Construction of a new directional median turn lane on Fashion Way (in front of the former Hancock Fabrics building) to require drivers entering Hwy. 45 from Fashion Way to turn south, prohibiting cross traffic;
- Signal light improvements at the intersection of Ripley Road and Hwy. 45 to improve safety there
The Hwy. 45 safety improvements stemmed from multiple accidents at the Southwest Avenue and Pratts Road intersections. MDOT officials conducted a lengthy safety project study along the corridor to determine the best way to improve safety along the busy stretch of highway. The design project portion was under way last year when the most recent fatal accident occurred just more than a week before Christmas.
The overall project was expanded to include improvements on both the Lee and Prentiss county sides of Hwy. 45 in Baldwyn.
“We combined this project with another intersection improvement project at Ripley Road in Prentiss County and let them under one contract,” Scott said. “We anticipate completion for this project to be October 2017.”
