The cost of relocating the utility lines on South Frontage Road will cost the city an extra $74,000.

That’s how much more Waggoner Engineering of Jackson, the project engineer, wants to oversee the design and construction of the project, Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said.

“That $74,000 is just our cost,” he said. The total project cost is split between the state and the city. Flaggs said the design of the project had to be changed to meet Mississippi Department of Transportation requirements. He said city officials are negotiating the extra cost with Waggoner.

“I believe some of that we’ve already paid for,” he said.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen April 5 awarded the contract to relocate the water, gas and sewer lines on South Frontage Road to Hemphill Construction of Florence.

Hemphill was the 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 was about $600,000.

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.