HWY 49 Construction Update: MDOT details progress on Gulfport road projects
HARRISON COUNTY, Miss. (WXXV)- If it feels like Highway 49 has been under construction for a long time, that’s because some of its biggest projects are reshaping the roadway.
With crews working to ease congestion and improve safety, WXXV News 25’s Brynne Baxley spoke with MDOT about when drivers can expect to see the finished product.
Work continues for the Highway 49 expansion project between O’Neill Road and School Road. The more than $40 million project will widen U.S. 49 from four to six lanes.
Crews have completed most of the work on the southbound side and now focused on the northbound lanes. MDOT Public Information Officer Anna Ehrgott said, “Crews have finished most of the widening work in the southbound lanes, right now in the northbound lanes, earthwork is taking place as well as stone base. Also, right now, the access to South Swan Road is currently restricted, while crews perform some paving work there to help bring the newly constructed lane up to grade with the existing lanes, and also tie in that lane to South Swan Road.”
A major part of the project is a new continuous flow intersection at Highway 49 and Highway 53. MDOT says the design will move left-turning traffic more efficiently through the intersection. “The purpose of it is to optimize left turning traffic on the highway. So once that is done, people can expect traffic to flow a bit more easily there, especially in peak times.”
Further south on Highway 49, crews have installed median barriers as part of a pedestrian safety improvement project. The 14 and a half million-dollar project was developed after MDOT identified this section as one of the state’s most dangerous corridors for pedestrian crashes. “So, the City of Gulfport was very proactive, and they helped fund a traffic study back in 2019 that was published in 2021 that identified several ways to reduce pedestrian fatalities and injuries in the area. One of the safety measures that was identified in that traffic study was the median barrier with the fencing on top, the purpose of that is to deter pedestrians from attempting to make a crossing mid-block.”
MDOT says the pedestrian improvement project should be completed this fall. “The upgrades that are being done there include the construction of sidewalks, which are nearly complete. Also, there is a median barrier wall that’s been constructed there, as well as some fencing on top. And there’s also going to be some crosswalk upgrades that are going to be part of that project as well. Crews are pretty far along on that project, and it should wrap up this fall.”
While South Swan Road is expected to open in the next few weeks, the Highway 49 expansion project still has a lot let to do and is expected to continue into 2027.
