Jackson Jambalaya

Bullshit. I've said for years it won't be completed in my lifetime and I'm 69. The times I've been down that way, full sunshine, equipment sitting around everywhere, businesses blocked off...not a working soul in sight.

The Highway 49 project is your classic "no show job" operation.

What 3:44 said time 100!!!!!

Sat in traffic coming north in to Florence two weeks ago for over an hour and a half.

Before people start blasting "lazy MDOT workers" keep in mind that this project, like every other construction or overlay project, is contracted to a PRIVATE COMPANY!

And no, I don't work, nor have I ever worked, for MDOT.

It's designated "49" because that is the number of years it will take to finish this boondoggle.

MDOT in the trolling business now ? I just came thru there and "almost" means 10 years minimum . What a sack full of terds these folks are. Dang this made me hot..

That's great, it starts with an earthquake
Birds and snakes, and aeroplanes
And Lenny Bruce is not afraid.

How many hundreds of millions of dollars is this boondoggle over estimates?

3:56 : And they will work when they are paid ! MDOT is at fault because the checks are always late.

Believe it when I don't see a single square inch of orange on the roadway.

God Bless 4:15 pm for quoting REM "The End of the World As We know It." Soooo appropriate. I feel fine & you've got potential.

Bitch, bitch bitch. This project, like most major infrastructure 'improvements' are nothing but inconvenient for everybody. Considering that the project covers some ten to fifteen miles it would be very common for areas to not have 'workers' or 'operating equipment' visible off and on during the project's lifetime.

And yes, it is taking more time and costing more money than originally anticipated due to some engineering screw-ups done years ago requiring some significant changes to the design and construction requirements. Along with the weather delays, it hasn't been a cakewalk getting finished.

Not considered though is having to keep all the old access points operative for the businesses, meaning that those orange barrels have to be moved from space to space as the process continues. (For fun, while traveling down the highway, I've tried to estimate the number of orange barrels required for this project - have no idea if my estimate is anywhere near accurate, but latest guess was over 15,000).

However, it appears to this untrained and uneducated eye - something that is different from all the other posters here that have their masters in Highway Engineering or Construction - that the work will be finished by early fall.

I'm 47 and there are highway cones in the construction zone older than me. That project will never be completed.

When they leave there hopefully they won’t contract with the same company to repair Star Road where the truckers have bypassed Richland to get to I-20 in a reasonable amount of time. The number of trucks, especially fuel trucks, is excessive for a county/city road. College Street once they cross 18 is in dire need of repairs between the heavy trucks and the wet winters recently.

The delays have been caused by a combination of global warming, gun shows, the pandemic, white flight, open carry, and the perception of crime, right?

It is important to note that a significant portion of work is performed at night. If I am not mistaken, the project has restrictions on closing lanes of the road to not effect businesses and the traveling public. No excuse for the bad engineering, as bad plans make a bad project.

I'm in Richland every day. This project has made good progress over the last year or two. I avoid getting on 49 because of the traffic, but each time I do, I notice new stop lights, much more area paved, and other noticeable progress. If they continue at this rate I'm sure they will finish before long.

The project is on time, per MDOT. Most of you have no idea how difficult that project is to execute. Everyone knew at the time it started that it was going to be a long, hard project. Most of the workers have been working a minimum 60 hours a week during good weather for two or more years. I asked about a 40 hour a week job, and they didn’t have any- only 60+. Every time I rode through there at night, people were working. Building roads and bridges in the middle of hellacious traffic is difficult. BTW, it would be great if everyone would slow down and worry about the people who are trying to get it finished.

Last week on Friday afternoon- beginning about 3:30 pm on hwy 49 north, I was stopped for almost one and a half hours about a mile south of Florence. It was so frustrating! I bet traffic was backed up to the Coast! Why were they working in Florence area on a busy Friday afternoon? There was no way to get off 49 or detour around area. Also - what if emergency vehicles had needed access! Poor planning!

@10:37 I frequently have to travel from south Mississippi up north. I get off of 49 in Star, MS on Star road. Star road takes you all the way to Brandon. Once you're in Brandon, take 471 and 43 to Canton where you can get on the interstate. Yes, it's out of the way, but it does circumnavigate Jackson and it beats sitting in standstill traffic for an hour and a half. Nicer scenery too.

This project is a perfect example of the lack of a master plan and legacy poor engineering in the transportation system in and around metro Jackson and US HWY 49. Back in the day when we had political clout (including Sen. Cochran, Sen. Stennis & President Clinton) we should have pushed for 49 Highway to be converted to the interstate program which would have provided an artery from Little Rock to Gulfport. These are the folks that brought us the stack I, II, III, the waterworks curve and 3 lanes merging to 2 at I55N & County Line/220 only to go back to 3 lanes in a 1/4 mile! When they figured out their giant stack north $$$ plan wouldn’t be funded they simply added a 3rd lane under 220 for a very small fraction of the cost. Bummer for the construction folks. Back to the US HWY 49 golden goose. What should have done at this point in time would have been to build a new 49 bypass controlled access 3 lane north/south from a new I20 interchange to Simpson County/Piney Woods School line. Instead you will now have 3 brand new lanes north and south sitting dead still at the same Florence Wal Mart red light snarl for 30+ minutes during the summer vacation season. Don’t mind the heat and the smell of diesel exhaust because MDOT will have a new 20 year plan once these funds are banked.

A wider Hwy 49 won’t carry much more traffic than it currently does if you have signals every quarter mile.

The traffic problems on 49 are caused by too many people going to eat catfish in florence. LOL

3:56 said - Before people start blasting "lazy MDOT workers" keep in mind that this project, like every other construction or overlay project, is contracted to a PRIVATE COMPANY!

Nobody has said a damned word about MDOT!

But, now that you bring it up, 'almost finished' according to MDOT engineers means 'sometime in the next eight years'. Seriously, I wonder how many people have gone out of business on either side of the road along this twelve mile stretch.

Whoever lets contracts and keeps fires lit under contractors ought to be kicked in the ass and fired! And the same should apply to whoever floated this 'almost finished' story to Kingfish.