WORKERS ARE continuing with a project that will add an extra lane in each direction on I-55 between Ridgeland and Madison which should reduce congestion and allow commuters from Madison County to travel that area more efficiently.

“As the I-55 project between Ridgeland and Madison continues to move forward, crews have opened one of the newly constructed southbound lanes,” said Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) spokeswoman Carrie Adams in a written statement. “The existing lane is closed to traffic while crews construct another lane southbound.”

MDOT opened a third lane on northbound I-55 between Old Agency Road and Highway 463 on June 9. The new lane was built on the outside of the existing lanes.

And work crews are nearing the end of the construction on the southbound lanes.

“Currently, crews have completed 85 percent of the bridge work on this project, 100 percent of the excavation and 85 percent of the asphalt paving. Other improvements will include the installation of guardrails and striping,” Adams said.

The project was awarded to Key Constructors Inc., of Madison.

MDOT has also recently finished a $31 million project to repave I-55 from Pearl Street to the intersection of I-220.

In addition to repaving, the workers also made other improvements to guardrails and the frontage road.

They also constructed a concrete barrier to prevent drivers entering I-55 north from Woodrow Wilson Boulevard from cutting over to exit onto Lakeland Drive.

AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY major change that motorists will see along the roadway.

Later this year, nine overhead message boards will be installed around the interstate loop in Jackson. These signs will allow MDOT to warn motorists of any slowdowns on the interstates due to accidents or other problems, giving drivers enough time to find an alternate route.

“The whole goal of the program is to get better, faster, real time information to the travelers, whether it’s people passing through town or regular commuters,” said Wes Dean, state traffic engineer, in a previous interview.

This is just the beginning of message boards of this type that MDOT will install, Dean said. The nine that will be going up soon will be placed in areas that MDOT officials thought would be the most important.

Construction of the boards should begin sometime this fall, Dean has said. The work will take six to seven months to complete.