Offerings on bids to resurface nine miles of U.S. 61 South in Vicksburg will be delayed a month by the Mississippi Department of Transportation because of changes in the type of asphalt mix to be used.

Mississippi Department of Transportation Central District Engineer Kevin Magee said a new one identified by the agency’s Materials Division will have better “anti-permeability” properties than one mentioned in notices to bidders sent out three weeks ago. The less porous asphalt is eyed for the part of the federal highway closest to the severely rutted Pemberton Boulevard intersection.

MDOT aims to open bids by Feb. 23, with the start of work now expected in April.

Holes and long ruts in the roadway that hold water in heavy rain will be smoothed away once the project is complete. Crews will resurface both lanes of 61 from the Pemberton intersection to the Hancor plant, just north of Redbone Road.

Construction is to take 89 workdays, not including days of bad weather, according to the first set of project documents.    

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com