Monday, April 4, 2022

I-20/I-55 Closure This Weekend

 The Mississippi Department of Transportation issued the following statement:

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) will close all lanes of Interstate 20 westbound/Interstate 55 southbound at State Street in Jackson on April 8 to perform an emergency repair on a roadway failure that has resulted in a severe dip in the interstate.

Repair plans call for the closure of I-20 westbound/I-55 southbound to begin at 7 p.m. on Friday, April 8. The closure is anticipated to last approximately 72 hours. I-20 westbound and I-55 southbound run concurrently at the closure location.

The temporary closure will have a major impact on traffic. During the closure, I-20 westbound/I-55 southbound traffic will be directed to Interstate 55 northbound and Interstate 220 southbound to detour around the closure. Local traffic should consider an alternate route on local roads during the closure timeframe.

“We understand closing an interstate in the Jackson-metro area is going to be a major inconvenience for the public, which is why motorists should begin planning their alternate routes now,” said Brad White, MDOT Executive Director. “We regret the temporary inconvenience the closure will cause, but the repair is necessary to keep the I-20 westbound/I-55 southbound corridor safe and passable in Jackson.”

The repair is necessary to address a stretch of I-20/55 failing due to what crews believe is a ruptured pipe that has heavily saturated the soil underneath the roadway. The pipe is located approximately 35 feet below the road surface.

Maintenance crews have been able to keep the roadway safe and passable by placing a foam material under the roadbed to raise the slab along the affected area, only to have the roadway dip again due to the saturated soil. This method can no longer keep the roadway from dipping, forcing the department to perform a temporary repair that will remove the saturated soil and replace it with crushed stone and asphalt during the upcoming closure.

The Interstate 20/55 repair project is approximately 65 feet long and four lanes wide. During the closure, contractors will be drilling in several areas to obtain information that will determine the cause and support recommendations on the inevitable permanent repair that will take place at a later date.

“This stretch of interstate sees over 100,000 vehicles on a daily basis and is one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the state,” said White. “Although this is a temporary inconvenience, it is necessary to keep the roadway safe and open until a permanent repair plan is in place.”

MDOT will update the public on the closure timeframe and detour. Motorists can stay updated on this project and others by visiting MDOTtraffic.com, downloading the free MDOT Traffic app, or following @MississippiDOT on Facebook and Twitter. For information about how to navigate highway work zones safely, visit GoMDOT.com/drivesmartms. 

 

14 comments:

Do an add on to the richards contract and have them dump their garbage as fill under the interstate for a more excellent Kush said...

Is that leaking pipe where some of the City's missing water has been going?

Is the DOT actually going to fix the leak? Or just continue to do more finger in the dike?

Anonymous said...

@11:08
One would assume by MDOT’s statement that it is going to fill the void with gravel. I guess the city can fix it while the ground is open. But MDOT is not in the municipal water business.

Of temporary repairs and Mississippi History said...

My Dad was born in 1920, one of his brothers in 1918. In the late 1920's, as mere kids, they found themselves in Downtown Petal MS probably on a Saturday afternoon after a morning of either selling freshly killed swamp rabbits from the night before or helping load a train car with watermelons. Just happened the "Bilbo for Governor" rally was in town, and they attended.

So Bilbo takes the stand and at some point claims "If you elect me Governor, I'll pave ALL the roads in Mississippi with BRICK!"

At which point, a fellow in the community that as my Dad and Uncle said "wasn't all there" decides to heckle Bilbo:

"Well Bilbo, what you gonna do when the brick wears out?"
Bilbo says "I'll flip them over and wear them on the other side!"
"Well Bilbo, what you gonna do when THAT side wears out?"
Bilbo says "I'll turn them on edge and they'll NEVER wear out!"
"Well Bilbo, why don't you just put them on edge to start with?!"

Dad lived to be 98, his brother 101. And to see them laugh until they cried telling that story well in to their late 90's is a precious memory for me.

Anonymous said...

11:29 : Not sure they are in the road building business either.

Anonymous said...

Must lock and load on I-220 (the detour).

Anonymous said...

Why is there a pipe buried 35 feet underground there?

Anonymous said...

Where will the 2:30 AM shootings be scheduled?

Anonymous said...

"contractors will be drilling in several areas to obtain information that will determine the cause..."

Is MDOT paying for this exploration? What is the pipe serving? Size and material? Pressure or drainage? Who does it belong to?

The tone of the reporting suggests it's certainly a broken pipe causing the issue. Can a new stretch of pipe be bored in during the closure and reconnected away from the road on either side? Because this "fix" won't last long and we'll just have to do it again soon.

With Apologies to Bob Dylan said...

Broken bridges, broken roads
broken vehicles, too heavy loads
broken pipes, broken soil
travel diverted, price of oil
aint no use in griping, aint no use in fumbling
all this bungling, got me Lumumbling
'bout the time I get to Woodrow Wilson, I'll think "aaaHaaa!"
Should have gone to L.A.
Via Omaha

fed up in Jackson said...

well, they will need to complete that work and then go to fortification st, b/c a portion of that new roadway b/w 55 and State is collapsing now

Anonymous said...

@1:23
MDOT does state and federal highway maintenance. That specifically means highways and interstates. Ever turned off a state highway onto a county road and see a sign that says “END STATE MAINTENANCE” a few feet after you exit? This is why.
Cities and Counties are responsible for their own “road” maintenance.

fed up in Jackson said...

@1:46.....NO SHIT SHERLOCK!!.....per the comments above, that the 35' deep failure in a pipe is on the cities shoulders, and will MDOT be fixing the leak, or just the deficiencies in the roadbed.....thus the need to add, a city project, re: fortification, while done by Hemphill (or sub contracted to), is also an example of a failure of a "city line" below a road bed that will soon cause a road shutdown. So yes, I am aware of the difference b/w I-55 and fortification, as far as whose authority oversees each roadway, but, and again, since everyone wants to tie the city of Jackson to it, thus my comment. Apologies for the lengthy explanation, but you narrow minded folk......

Anonymous said...

"Why is there a pipe buried 35 feet underground there?"

To discourage pipe thieves - it's too much work to dig that deep to get something they can try to pawn somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Boy! There sure are a lot of people who claim on here that they can “piss further than the next guy”. Half of these comments must be written while drinking or smoking cigarettes of questionable ingredients. Anyway, our highways are in one hell of a mess. I get so embarrassed while driving and seeing nothing but garbage, furniture, remnants of wrecks and truck tires laying on the sides of the roads and in the ditches and right of ways. Just a damn shame we pay taxes to use the interstates and highways and can’t even keep them up decently nor keep them properly maintained to drive on.


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