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Article Excerpt
A soggy spring has hampered road builders' efforts to work on the 1,480 roadway miles under construction in Mississippi, which includes The Stack, I-10 projects along the Gulf Coast, the High Rise Bridge in Pascagoula, the Greenville River Bridge, I-69 developments and other metro Jackson area projects.
"The rain has slowed down everything in the state," said Lee Simms, president of L & A Contracting Co. Inc., in Hattiesburg. "That's hurt."
Because contractors don't get paid until pre-determined portions of the work is done, the resulting accumulation of earmarked funds in Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) coffers proved too tempting for Mississippi lawmakers in the 2003 legislative session. Legislators tapped $50 million to cover a budget shortfall during a lean fiscal year for state government.
"That's the first time we've taken that kind of lick," said MDOT Commissioner Chairman Dick Hall.
Instead of using maintenance dollars to make up for the funding loss, MDOT has decided to delay construction of certain projects in the 1987 Four-Lane Highway Program.
"We hate to delay the letting of any construction project, but ... it is our duty to maintain our present highway system, and we will continue to do just that until this unexpected funding shortfall passes," said Hall.
Projects totaling $651 million will be let for fiscal year 2003, including contracts already awarded and projects expected to be awarded before the end of the current fiscal year, in July. Fiscal year 2004 calls for $383 million in road construction and $83 million earmarked for maintenance and rehabilitation, a total of $466 million.
"A loss of revenue will cause MDOT's letting schedule -- or the number...
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