The Board of Mayor and Aldermen have awarded a contract to relocate the city’s utility lines along South Frontage Road to Hemphill Construction Co. of Florence.

The utilities relocation is the final step in the preparation for a $20 million Mississippi Department of Transportation project to link the east and west sides of South Frontage Road with an overpass crossing the Kansas City Southern Railroad tracks.

It will provide a direct access to the Outlets at Vicksburg and the restaurants and businesses on East Clay Street and U.S. 80.

City officials believe the extension will help open the east side of South Frontage to more development.

Hemphill was lone bidder on the project with a bid of $1.576 million, which was about $57,412 more than the Mississippi Department of Transportation’s estimate of $1.519 million. City attorney Nancy Thomas said the city’s share of the project cost is about $600,000.

In another matter, the board awarded a contract to Commercial Construction & Maintenance of Jackson to renovate and expand the clubhouse and pro shop at the Halls Ferry tennis courts.

Commercial’s bid was the lowest of five companies submitting bids on the project.

The company’s base bid was $723,778, about $23,778 more than the estimated $700,000 for the project, but city officials are expected to use money from the $9.06 million bond issue to make up the difference.

Other contractors bidding on the project included Clifton Rankin Construction of Fayette, $725,000; Hopkins Construction & Maintenance LLC of Madison, $799,482.32; Fordice Construction of Vicksburg, $920,000; and Kenneth Thompson Builders of Greenwood, $842,000.

The project involves remodeling and enlarging the clubhouse at the tennis courts and installing handicap accessible facilities. City officials believe the improvements will help attract more statewide and regional tennis tournaments to the city.