A stretch of Walthall County highway hit the jackpot in Mississippi’s new lottery, with more than a quarter-million dollars going to fund road repairs.
Mississippi Department of Transportation officials said they’ll start work this week on milling, overlaying and striping Highway 198, from its intersection with Highway 48 in the west and through Tylertown until it meets up again with Highway 48 in the east.
New traffic signals will also be installed as part of the $782,568 project.
“MDOT is grateful to the legislature for designating $80 million in lottery proceeds to Mississippi’s transportation maintenance needs,” Commissioner Tom King, Southern Transportation District said in a statement. “We didn’t waste any time putting these funds back into Mississippi’s infrastructure because this money isn’t just for the highways, it’s for the people as well.”
Crews will start milling the existing asphalt today. A fresh layer of asphalt is expected to go down next week.
Work on the project will be done at night, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Dickerson & Bowen is the handling the work, which is expected to be completed in the spring.
This is the first time the MDOT has announced the use of funds to make highway repairs in Southwest Mississippi.
The Alyce G. Clark Mississippi Lottery Law, enacted in an August 2018 special session, designated the first $80 million of net lottery proceeds annually for state roads and bridges.
