Photo courtesy of Yates Construction
Construction crews in Jackson County Mississippi are working on a $212.6 million effort known as the Highway 57 project.
Construction crews in Jackson County, Mississippi, are working on a $212.6 million effort known as the Highway 57 project. Because of the sheer size of the undertaking, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) is relying on the engineering company Neel-Schaffer Inc. to oversee the work.
Photo courtesy of Neel-Schaffer
"Highway 57 serves as the primary route for Vancleave residents who commute to other areas of the Mississippi Gulf Coast," said Gabe Faggard, Neel-Schaffer engineer manager. "Most of the residents live north of Vancleave and must travel through town to get to Interstate 10 and U.S. 90. Several schools are in Vancleave, and the combination of school and commuter traffic creates significant congestion during peak hours.
"Furthermore, it serves as a hurricane evacuation route. The Highway 57 project will alleviate congestion by routing the heaviest traffic around the busy commercial area and providing key access points [interchanges] for residents to access it."
W. G. Yates and Sons serves as the contractor on the project, which includes widening SR 57 from two to four lanes along the existing route from I-10 to Gautier-Vancleave Road. A new four-lane alignment for SR 57 will be constructed connecting it from Gautier-Vancleave Road to the Lake O'Pines area. The project will alleviate congestion in the area and expand the capacity of the roadway.
According to Faggard, significant delays occur frequently during peak traffic, often resulting in backups that stretch through several major intersections. Law enforcement officers are required each day to help direct motorists entering and exiting Vancleave High School.
Neel-Schaffer is providing construction engineering and inspection services, including administering the contract according to the plans and specifications, accounting for the quantities of items, evaluating necessary construction changes, monitoring storm water runoff related to the construction work and monitoring traffic control.
"We also are providing materials testing services to ensure that the taxpayers are getting a quality product," said Faggard. "We coordinate with MDOT and the Federal Highway Administration [FHWA] on a regular basis to ensure that we are fulfilling their intent for the project. This includes weekly progress meetings with them and Yates Construction to discuss any issues that arise.
"Yates is a large company with extensive personnel and resources to handle a project of this magnitude," Faggard said. "They are attentive to the overall schedule and have provided the necessary manpower to keep the project on schedule. They also are very good at bringing up potential issues in a timely manner and willing to listen to all parties in reaching a solution."
Yates project executive Blake Southward said the most significant challenge on the project involves keeping tabs on the forecast.
"It's dealing with the weather and imminent threat of hurricanes or tropical storms that frequently develop in the Gulf of Mexico. The weather heavily impacted the project from March to June. We received less than average rainfall from July to December, and were able to complete a significant amount of work in that time period.
"Yates is proud to be a part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast community, and we know first-hand how devastating Mother Nature can be for this area. Hurricane Katrina was a horrific storm that took years for the Mississippi Gulf Coast to recover from. The concern for our employees, the surrounding communities and our project is paramount during hurricane season."
Southward explained, "Being on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, we were not as affected by the recent snow/ice storms like other parts of Mississippi or the Southeast. The mixture of rain and cold temperatures shut down most scopes of work on the project for an extended period. The worst part was after the cold weather receded and warmer air brought in significant amounts of rain to an already wet job site.
Photo courtesy of Yates Construction
Southward also said coordinating the construction of four new lanes on Hwy 57 from I-10 to the north of Vancleave has required a great deal of time and effort.
"Our crews have a daily huddle in which field leadership reviews daily and weekly goals, as well as project milestones. Neel-Schaffer is involved in these daily huddles, and we have found that it bolsters communication among field leadership, as well as fostering involvement and communication between the owner and contractor."
As far as constructing three interchanges, said Southward, "The intersections on this project will be constructed in Phases 1 and 2. This will be done to minimize impact to the traveling public. During Phase 1, construction of the southbound lanes will be completed, as well as work adjacent to existing interchanges.
"During Phase 2, traffic will be placed on the newly constructed southbound lanes, while a portion of existing Hwy 57 is removed to allow for northbound lane construction."
Despite the three million cu. yds. of grading to be performed, the 13 bridge structures are the critical path of the project.
"In 2023, our preliminary schedule showed the project working on four bridges. We were able to begin work on five bridges. This was done without disrupting production for other scopes and allowed all subcontractors to be efficient and productive in the first year of the Hwy 57 project.
The project is 10 mi. long and through proper planning and execution by all team members, Yates has been able to work in areas shown in its baseline schedule.
"Being able to have clearing and grubbing operations complete in 2023 was a major milestone that allowed us to stabilize areas as clearing and grubbing progressed to prevent erosion control issues and allowed the project to stay on schedule.
"Another significant task is having all trial and test drilled shafts completed in 2023 so permanent shafts can be installed. Hall's Construction is a DBE subcontractor that is assigned with building box culverts and box bridges on this project, and this company has done a fantastic job maintaining production and has stayed ahead of successor activities in the project schedule. In 2023, Hall's completed six of the eight box culverts shown in Phase 1."
Currently, crews are constructing Bridges A, B, C, F, G and H. These bridges are at various stages ranging from installing stay-in-place decking at Bridge H, driving test pile at Bridge A and completing trial and test shafts Bridge G.
Some of the key tasks remaining include the construction of the Gautier Vancleave Road interchange. This will be done in two phases and will consist of frontage road and ramp construction; new alignment of Gautier Vancleave Road; box culvert construction; and a bridge overpass. Another milestone is the Phase 1 to Phase 2 traffic switch, which is scheduled for August 2025.
Because the project is mostly being constructed along a new alignment, the impacts to traffic will be minimal during the first two years. There will be minor traffic shifts and intermittent temporary closures at some of the local road connections, but the existing highway will remain as-is.
The new roadway will be opened in phases, with two new lanes along the south half of the project opening in 2025. This will involve shifting traffic onto the new southbound lanes while the existing highway is demolished to make way for construction of the new northbound lanes. At that time, traffic will begin using two of the new interchanges being constructed. The remainder of the new highway will be opened in 2027.
A wide variety of heavy equipment is being used on the project. For grading operations, crews are using a mixture of Komatsu D51s and Cat D5s.
"Our excavator fleet consists of three Komatsu 360s and a Komatsu 490. Regarding bridge equipment, Yates and Key Constructors are using a Link-Belt 238, Kobelco 1600, Terex 165 and Link-Belt 218 cranes for bridge construction and pile driving operations."
The main material placed thus far is a borrow material meeting MDOT specifications for Class B7, a mixture of 3500 and 4000 psi concrete for box culvert, minor structure and bridge construction. In addition to borrow placement in roadway sections, workers have placed 6 in. of crushed stone base.
Photo courtesy of Neel-Schaffer
Southward said it's difficult to adequately describe how rewarding it is to work on the Highway 57 Project.
"Yates and this project team have been fortunate to build several large projects in Mississippi, and there is an overwhelming sense of pride for a Mississippi company to be able to give back to our state's infrastructure."
"This project will serve the people of south Mississippi for years to come. The new bypass will provide a safer route for people to go to work and provide for their families and also will serve as an evacuation route when a storm threatens the coast. We welcome the economic impact this project will make for the town of Vancleave and the surrounding areas."
Faggard echoed that sentiment.
"Neel-Schaffer is pleased to be a part of such a large investment in the future of south Mississippi. Many of our employees call south Mississippi home, and we take pride in knowing that we are helping make Highway 57 a safer and less congested roadway. The effects of this project will be felt for decades, and we are pleased to be providing the oversight to ensure that it is a success." CEG
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