News

Gresham Smith Helps MDOT Secure Federal Grant I-10 Widening

Infrastructure Grant To Ease Travel On Mississippi Gulf Coast

Gresham Smith is proud to announce that with its support the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) was awarded a $60 million grant for the widening of I-10 between Long Beach and Diamondhead and other improvements.

The grant, which will be administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, is part of the National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program, also known as the “Mega” grant program. The bipartisan infrastructure law funding will support widening I-10 from four lanes to six lanes. The corridor starts west of Diamondhead to just east of County Farm Road in Harrison County where an existing six-lane segment ends.

The existing corridor currently experiences traffic congestion and mobility delays. The widening of this roadway will improve traffic flow in a heavily used commercial and freight corridor, support economic development and create new jobs for Mississippians. The grant will also support intelligent transportation system (ITS) improvements from approximately 1.5 miles west of the SR 603/43 interchange to approximately 2 miles east of US 49.

“We’re proud to continue supporting MDOT’s grant applications that help move drivers more efficiently and safely across the state,” said Randy Battey, P.E., State Transportation Leader for Mississippi at Gresham Smith. “Gresham Smith has identified and obtained funding for several state and local departments of transportation throughout the Southeast.”

Gresham Smith supported MDOT by providing project management services, research, application development, cost-benefit analysis and a project website. The firm also helped MDOT obtain letters of support and manage other stakeholder comments. Gresham Smith is currently completing engineering design for the project to enable MDOT to let the project by competitive bid in their August 2023 letting.

Over the last few years, Gresham Smith has been successful in helping MDOT secure several discretionary federal grants, including a $71.68 million grant in 2020 for the construction of US 82 in Washington County, a $52.4 million grant in 2019 for the construction of SR 76 in Itawamba County and a $25 million grant in 2018 for improvements to SR 19 in Neshoba County.