19 to town 4-laning awarded

A $35.6-million contract to four-lane Mississippi 19 from Tucker into Philadelphia starting in April was awarded to W.G. Yates & Sons Construction of Philadelphia.

The notice to proceed is April 2, according to the Mississippi Department of Transportation and has a scheduled completion date of October 2, 2023.

The project is 4.52 miles and runs from the current bridge project at Tucker to Airpark Road in Philadelphia.

When the project is completed, there will be approximately six miles of Mississippi 19 remaining as two-lane between House and Tucker.

“It has been a long time coming,” said state Sen. Jenifer Branning. “I am so excited. It has been many years in the making and really good news for not only Neshoba County. East Central Mississippi will benefit.

“I think people are seeing the bridge project outside of Tucker and they are realizing that this is fixing to get real. It’s progress and it is very exciting.”

Branning expects to be more involved in transportation projects. She now chairs the Senate Highway and Transportation Committee.

“Hopefully, we will be able to work a lot more closely on transportation issues,” Branning said. “Of course we have gotten so much done for Neshoba County as of late but there is still a lot of work to be done.”

State Rep. C. Scott Bounds said the contract is the result of a lot of work and planning.

“A lot of work has gone into that to get us to this point,” Bounds said. “We will continue to work to find dollars to get the rest of highway (between House and Tucker).

“It takes a while to get a project started, and to have the money in hand and the contract let is as far as we have ever been before.