A trickle of money that may lead to the long-awaited makeover of Interstate 20 on Vicksburg’s rim has been OK’d by Congress.

Sens. Than Cochran and Trent Lott announced Mississipi Department of Transportation will receive $4,737,150 to begin an environmental study for the reconstruction of I-20 from the Mississippi River Bridge to the county line.

Several bridges and on- and off-ramps and merge areas fail modern minimum widths and lengths along the route.

Part of the redesign also proposes to funnel east and west traffic along three lanes instead of two.

The project has been in the talking and preliminary planning stages for more than a decade.

Walter Lyons, MDOT District 3 engineer, said the money, woefully insufficient to rebuild the interstate, will allow MDOT to begin the process of advertising for a contractor that will do the environmental impact statement, which will include not only the highways impact on the natural environment but also on businesses located along the highway and on the people who use the present roads and who will be using the completed road.

The makeover, when performed, will cost from $150 million to $250 million.

Work on the interstate began in Warren County in the 1960s but was not completed until the 1970s. It is part of the nationwide highway system conceived by the administration of President Dwight Eisenhower in the 1950s.

A $10 million project is under way to keep I-20 in sufficient condition until the rebuilding can begin. It has involved removing fences and vegetation, overlay of the highway and frontage roads, drainage work and new guard rails. The 18-month contract period ends in late summer.