MDOT Director of Alternative Program Deliveries Jessica Dilley

Jessica Dilley, MDOT Alternative Program Deliveries Director, joined The Extra Mile Podcast to take a deep dive into the I-20/I-55 Freight Corridors Improvement Project - what we're calling "The Big Fix."




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Creators and Guests

Host

Paul Katool

Paul Katool joined the Mississippi Department of Transportation Public Affairs Division in 2016 as the agency’s first Social Media Strategist. In 2019, he was promoted to Digital Media Manager, where he led the creation of MDOT’s nationally award-winning Extra Mile Podcast. In 2022, Paul assumed the role of Deputy Director of Public Affairs, which includes helping to run the day-to-day operations of the division.

Host

Will Craft

Will Craft joined MDOT in 2018 after serving on Senator Thad Cochran’s and Senator Hyde Smith’s staffs. Beginning in the Government Affairs role at MDOT, Will assisted executive leadership in matters of policy, stakeholder engagement, legislative affairs, and external communications. Since joining the Public Affairs team in 2023, Will is most often recognized as one of the “podcast guys”. The Award Winning Extra Mile Podcast is hosted by Will and Paul Katool, and produced by Drew Hall.

Producer

Drew Hall

Drew Hall is an award-winning media producer with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, bringing more than 15 years of experience in video production, photojournalism, podcasting, and public affairs communications. A graduate of Mississippi State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and an emphasis in Broadcasting, Drew began his career in television news as a photojournalist, working for WDBD Fox 40 and WJTV News Channel 12 in Jackson. During nearly 11 years in broadcast news, he covered breaking news, feature stories, and live events throughout Mississippi while developing the ability to tell compelling visual stories under tight deadlines. Drew joined MDOT in 2019, where his work has expanded from video production and photography to strategic communications, multimedia campaigns, podcast production, and production leadership. He serves as the producer and editor of The Extra Mile, MDOT’s podcast featuring conversations with transportation leaders, engineers, policymakers, and other voices connected to Mississippi’s transportation system. His work has received recognition from organizations including the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Public Relations Association of Mississippi (PRAM), and the National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC). His honors include awards for The Extra Mile, “Don’t Trash Mississippi,” “I-269: Five Years of Economic Boom,” and MDOT Remembers Hurricane Katrina. In his current role, Drew oversees photographer scheduling and production logistics, helps manage the division’s digital media assets and archiving systems, and coordinates drone compliance and operations. He is an Adobe Certified Professional in Digital Video using Premiere Pro and an FAA-licensed remote pilot. Drew’s passion is using video, photography, audio, and storytelling to make complex subjects accessible, connect organizations with their audiences, and showcase the people and stories behind Mississippi’s transportation system.

Guest

Jessica Headrick Dilley

MDOT Director of Alternative Program Deliveries Jessica Dilley, P.E., of Madison, received her B.S. degree in civil engineering in 2008 and her master’s degree in environmental engineering in 2010, both from the University of Mississippi. She then began her career with MDOT in the Planning Division, where she served in various roles, including Assistant State Planning Engineer. Her accolades include being named WTS-MS’ 2023 Woman of the Year, University of Mississippi Civil Engineering Department’s 2018 Outstanding Alumna, and Mississippi Engineering Society’s 2017 Young Engineer of the Year. Dilley started her role as Director of the Alternative Program Deliveries Division on July 1, 2023. This newly formed division administers alternative program deliveries, including alternative project delivery (CMGC, PDB, and design-build projects), and oversees MDOT’s federal grant applications, digital delivery and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Program.

What is The Extra Mile Podcast?

Tune in to The Extra Mile presented by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Co-hosts Paul Katool and Will Craft take listeners inside the world of transportation infrastructure in Mississippi.

MDOT presents

the Extra Mile podcast.

Welcome into another edition

of the Extra Mile

podcast presented by the Mississippi

Department of Transportation.

I'm Paul Katool.

And as always,

joined by my co-host Will Craft.

And very excited.

We have a third timer on the show today.

Last episode we teased a little bit.

We've been talking all things

the Big Fix.

We're going to really deep dive

into that today

with the director

of the Alternative Program

Deliveries Division, Jessica Dilley.

Jessica, I know you're

pumped to be back with us.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you. I am I'm really excited.

I've been telling everyone

I've got my hat trick

in, like I am here for it.

Thank you for having me.

Of course, of course.

And I know we were talking

before the show.

It's been around a year

since you've been on the on the podcast.

So this is a really cool division

that you that you lead.

It's also,

I would have no idea what it is

unless you told me what it is.

So let's remind our audience,

our viewers, our listeners,

what the APD division is.

Kind of give us a little overview.

Sure. Yeah.

So the alternative Program delivery

division was established in 2023,

and the division was created

to have a space

to be able

to provide innovative solutions

to projects to help expedite delivery,

improve our quality of projects,

and then also provide innovative

solutions to projects.

It we had

we looked at a lot of different names

for the division

when it was being created

because there's a

a variety of different tasks

that are under the division,

including digital delivery,

the Electric vehicle Program grant

and then alternative project delivery.

So we landed on alternative program

delivery.

That way

we could incorporate

a variety of programs to help

reach the goal of the division.

Amazing. You'll do excellent work.

Thank you.

We we try small but mighty

team over there. That's right.

Well, let's

break out a couple of those things

for us.

We're going to get into more of

sort of the alternative

delivery and one sense, but,

maybe just real quickly

touch on what the

what exactly is digital delivery?

So digital delivery is

just what it sounds. Digital.

Digitally

delivering projects through construction

and then creating basically a 3D model

of the living asset of your project.

Okay.

So right now it's it's

kind of hard to believe,

but we still deliver paper plans.

Sure.

So our we've been

designing in 3D for

over a decade.

And what that is is our design

divisions create

basically a model of the project

that they are designing.

And there is a bridge model.

And then there's also a roadway model.

And then that model is printed

and taken to construction.

Right now

we deliver the model for information

only at bid.

But then we also

print actual paper plans.

The plans are at the end of the job

are returned back.

And those are the legal documents. Okay.

So what the digital delivery goal is,

is to create a model as a legal document.

So instead of having those paper plans

come back in, those servers are as built.

Have the model actually come back in

that serve as the as built.

And then that way

that infrastructure can be maintained

through the maintenance

lifecycle as like a digital twin.

Of what our infrastructure is out

in the field.

Very cool. Okay. That's cool. Nice.

And I know we'll get into

some of these other things.

But I did want to just

iron that out a bit.

Because I was a little bit unfamiliar.

And I'm sure you've explained it before,

but I have forgotten.

Well, just jumping right into it.

I know we've got a doozy here today.

Something that,

if you have tuned in to anything Mdot

in the last 2 or 3 weeks, there's no way

you haven't seen something about it.

We have been on the airwaves,

on the TV, on the radio,

and then we had stakeholders meetings.

Last week, meeting

with all kinds of local mayors

and supervisors

and industry officials,

commercial freight folks.

A big one.

What we got going on?

Oh, are you referring to the big fix?

My big.

I just might be fixes in.

Yes.

So this is the largest project that Mdot

has done to date.

And the largest

investment in one singular

let project at a time.

So, it has been quite an undertaking.

We are very excited about it. It has.

We have been working

very hard

towards the delivery of this project.

I believe that in your last podcast,

Barrett mentioned this project

and kind of gave a little teaser into it.

So the project is here in the metro area.

It is just what it's called the big fix.

It's intended to provide an upgrade

to the infrastructure along I-20

and I 55,

due to the age of the infrastructure

and the needs of that infrastructure

out there.

It starts at Wiggins along I-20,

and it follows I-20 going east

all the way to Pearson Road.

And then on the south side

it starts at McDowell,

and then it follows I-55 north to

just north of High Street.

There will

be 36

bridges in the project, and there is 121

lane miles

that we will be improving

along the corridor.

The scope of the job actually

has 45 different scopes of work

that's being handled in the job.

So there's a lot of work being done.

This is our busiest corridor

in the state,

so it's difficult

for us to go in and do some,

routine maintenance

without large traffic impacts

to the traveling public.

Not only does that corridor

serve the metro area, but it also is

a multi-state interstate connector,

so it connects a lot of through freight

traffic and traveling public.

So whenever we do

work through that corridor,

it does

cause a large disruption to traffic.

The infrastructure

through there is around 60 years old.

So the average age of the bridges

along that corridor is around 59 years.

This is potentially our

last major

upgrade of this infrastructure

to extend its life before

replacement will be needed.

And that'll be way off, right?

I mean, I guess what is the goal here?

What are we gaining years wise from this?

The goal is to gain around 40

to 60 additional years on these bridges.

It was basically twice the life.

Doubling the lifespan.

Yes. That's awesome.

And and if you go ahead

and knock this out now. Right.

I mean, this is going to

I know you mentioned a little bit.

Can you give some numbers on that.

So if we do this in two and a half years

instead of how long would this be.

Otherwise.

So we we actually

this project ended up in my division

because we procured it

alternative delivery, which is we

did that different

than our traditional design

bid build process.

There was a lot of thought

and planning that went into

that approach.

And with

that approach,

we're able to bring in the contractor,

they're selected based on qualifications,

and we bring them in,

and they work with us

through the design process

to ensure efficiencies in the job,

work through means and methods, work

through the schedule, work

through planning.

Try to identify

risks and

potential pitfalls during construction

by being able to do that.

We were able to plan

this large scope of work

and this large footprint

that we are undertaking

all this work in two and a half years.

So it's a lot of work

being done in two and a half years.

The intent of that is to try to limit

the impacts to the traffic

and traveling public as much as possible.

If we would

have done this, a traditional design

bid build, we'd be looking at around

probably a five year timeline on the job.

And then if we also

consider peace building the projects

36 bridges, those 36 bridges

have a, need a lot of work.

And so we had contemplated

kind of

bringing it up into

some smaller projects,

and we'd be looking at probably around

15 years of construction

through the area.

That's pretty crazy.

And yeah, you talked about the

the benefits of it.

And it's really

I mean,

first of all, it has to be done, like,

you know, these bridges and the roadway,

you know, it's

it'll give out if it doesn't.

It's a safety thing.

Like, you know,

you want your kids to,

you know, be safe

when they're they're driving this road.

And then you also mentioned,

you know, it's a freight corridor.

Like if you want the things that you need

and want, like this has to be fixed.

It's a major economic issue here.

So anyway, really, really cool project.

And then,

you know,

people have been asking about it

of course on social media everything.

So one of the big kind of questions

right now is like,

when is this work starting?

And you know,

what's kind of like the timeline

of what's going on here?

So we are actually expecting

to probably

have cones out as early as this week.

Wow. All right. Yes.

So first,

people probably

start seeing some barrels, cones out,

potentially some barriers

by the end of the month.

The barriers will be out there

to enable workers to

safely work behind them.

Those will not be lane closures.

They will just be out there

in order to create a barrier

between the traveling public and the work

that's happening behind those barriers.

And then, I'm not sure that we're ready

to get into the large impact

of the full closures,

but we do have two planned full closures

in in that schedule as well.

That is necessary to complete the work.

Excellent, excellent.

And just a time stamp stamp.

This episode is the middle of September.

So is it the 14th today?

Yes.

So anyway, it's it's

getting ready to get rolling then.

For sure.

A couple, a couple of the scope of work

that I think

are valuable

and people might be interested

in hearing about is,

you know, we'll be upgrading the paving

through there.

Right now.

There is, there is some paved.

There was an overlay

that was done that was intended to

kind of

create a patchwork

for this project going in,

and then this overlay that goes in

will extend

the life of that pavement

for 10 to 20 years.

And then also,

like I said, the 36 bridges,

there's several of them

that are being widened

in order to create additional shoulders.

Most of that work is being done.

And what we call the concurrent section,

which is where I 20

and I 55 run concurrently along I 20.

And then we are also

widening out the shoulders

through that entire concurrent section.

And what that does

is that allows a safe space for drivers,

that reduces impacts to our guardrail,

that reduces impacts to the barrier,

the bridge rail.

It also creates a space for

if you run out of gas,

if you, your engine light

comes on, if you get a flat tire,

you have a safe space to pull your car

over to.

I don't know that any of us

understand the real value of that until

it's necessary.

So it

gets the cars

out of the traveling roadway.

It gets them into a safe space.

It gets them out of high speeds.

I even add to that, you know,

you just don't think about it.

Maybe from

if you looked at it in any road,

if you just

if you're thinking about any

highway or any road,

maybe they don't all need,

you know,

huge wide shoulders,

something we're talking about 100,000

plus vehicles coming through here.

I mean, something

so insignificant

as your battery died or a flat tire.

You know, I say insignificant.

It's certainly not.

Would not be insignificant to me

in that moment, I get that.

But something

so sort of easy

to maybe deal with or not,

you know,

a big deal

can shut down the entire corridor.

And so having those shoulders

get the minor

traffic accidents out of the way,

we've had

the state law passed

a couple of years ago

encouraging people to do so.

I know when I was growing up,

it was like,

if you had an accident

or you wrecked or whatever,

it was like, that's where you

you just

you weren't supposed

to touch the vehicle.

You know,

you're supposed to wait

right there until cops

get there or whatever.

That is not necessarily

the case on the highway.

It's like a minor incident, right?

If someone's hurt or injured,

you know, things like that are going on.

Don't don't try to be superhero

or whatever.

To degree that you,

you know, feel comfortable, I guess.

But yes, again, having those shoulders,

I don't think people do

maybe understand myself included

until we really thought about it.

How much of a value that that can be?

When we see 100,000 vehicles

going through there

and something so small. Shut it all down.

Hopefully.

Yeah, we can use that shoulder,

get them out of the way

and keep traffic going.

And a lot of times

whenever we have those delays, we see

ancillary wrecks that happen that further

shut down that interstate.

And getting

getting traffic through

there is our safely,

which is our biggest goal.

And then also improving

the freight movement through there

and just keeping that corridor moving

at all times.

Solutely

no doubt, no doubt.

So you I know you did.

You just mentioned the full closures.

Let's dive into those a little bit more.

So specifics on it.

So the first year it's

going to be in the summer of 2027.

And that's is that westbound.

Yes. Okay.

So like I said the the

you'll start seeing cones

go up in barrels right now.

That from a day to day

standpoint, we have planned

the day to day closures.

The day to day lane

closures have been planned around

our known traffic volumes.

So we m dot

we collect traffic along that corridor

every day.

And we have been doing it for decades.

We have lots of traffic information.

And we have planned the day to day

closures around known holidays,

large events such as the state fair

and general traffic patterns.

So your day to day

closures are going to be at night

and on weekends.

We do recognize

we are in the middle of football season

and there's the

there's a game day travel campaign.

I probably messed that title up.

That's good. Got it. You got it.

So there is going to be closures

on the weekends

or lane closures on the weekends.

So I would just

we highly encourage people to plan ahead,

take extra time.

But yes in the summer of 2027.

So between 4th of July and Labor Day,

there will be a 45 day shutdown

of the interstate along I 20.

The this is a plan shutdown.

So we have

we have worked with a very large team.

Around our experience.

We have shut

down the interstate in this area

a couple times.

So we have used the experience

from those shutdowns

to plan this shutdown.

Those previous

shutdowns, I

will say were emergency lettings.

So this is not an emergency

letting we are trying

to avoid emergency lettings.

We are planning these shutdowns

to try to avoid future emergency

emergency shutdowns.

So it will start after 4th of July.

It'll be 45 days.

In 2027, in the westbound direction.

And then we will have another shutdown

in the eastbound direction

in the summer of 2028.

So that will be starting

after 4th of July

and go through Labor Day.

Wow.

Or it won't go through Labor Day.

It'll be over before Labor Day.

So say much between those two

before football season gets started.

That's it. Yeah.

Yeah.

Because, you know,

every decision we make in

Mississippi is based off of football

like it should be.

Yeah. Kidding, kidding.

Well, that's that's pretty intense.

Very cool.

So what can people kind of do

to prepare for those closures?

I know we've got some time, but what what

our intention

is to inform the public early in often.

So we as, as

you know, y'all have done an amazing job

at working on this campaign

to let people know about this project.

And we want people to plan.

I don't know about you, but

our school schedule has our calendars

scheduled out all the way until June.

I know where I'm going to be on June 4th

according to my children's schedules.

Yeah.

So, you know, we just ask that

y'all start making plans in preparation.

It's going to be here before you know it

and just,

you know,

trying to plan alternate routes,

trying to think about,

getting there safely.

And so planning extra time, seeing you

maybe can work around a different

like try to get to work a little earlier

or leave work

a little earlier,

get to work a little later,

leave work a little later,

try to kind of, plan around the high

traffic volume times,

plan alternate routes.

Just trying to

think about that

in advance of of that July date.

Absolutely. And I like to think about it.

So this is a good thing.

This is a really good thing.

We were being proactive

and we were doing something

that needs to be done.

So we're kind of all in this together.

So I know it's going to be

an inconvenience for people that,

you know, live in the area.

But, you know,

we're doing a really good thing for,

you know,

the investment, our infrastructure

and making sure everybody's can be safe.

So definitely an inconvenience.

But you know we're in this together

right guys?

Well the work that that is being done

under this

closure is cannot be done

under live traffic.

So it has to be done

and it has to be done under a closure.

And so we are trying to make the most of

that closure time period.

That 45 days is driven by

the schedule of the work

that is required to be done

under a closure.

However,

we are going to do some ancillary work

while we were out there, as well,

just to try to meet

that timeline as best as we can.

And I say we

I mean, the contractor team

that we have working on this job, and

so they're going to be doing

as much as they can during that closure.

But their primary focus

is going to be getting in, getting out

and having that schedule

driven by the work.

That can only be done

with the closure in place.

That's amazing.

And when it comes to detours,

I know we have a little

bit of information on that,

but is there anything you can say

about that right now?

So the plan detours,

are part of the closure.

We do have some maps that are

planning Division has helped

create for these.

Those will be published closer to time,

closer to the closure

because we don't want to, you know,

we want people to have the information

at hand

right before the closures happen

or closer to the closures.

We can only close our routes.

So only Mdot maintain routes.

I said we can only close our rules.

We can only detour on after hours.

So

the planned detour will be using

220 and I 55 around that 20 section.

So the the closure will be between 220

and the Pearl River along I 20.

And then.

So the closure will be in closure.

The detour will be along 220

and I 55 in both directions.

We do recognize that people

have those

and mapping devices

and will be using ways,

and we'll be using whichever mapping

platform platform will get you to

where you're going.

So there has we are planning

and there has been a lot of work

that it's done on US 80 and other routes

to help prepare for this shutdown.

So I know

we we often get that question of,

you know,

what have you all done

on some other routes

to help prepare for this?

So I don't know if y'all remember, a year

or two ago

we had some bridges

that were closed on 80.

Yeah, that bridge work

was done in preparation of this job,

knowing that it's

coming down the pipeline.

There was also some, signal coordination

that was done along

80 to help prepare for

this closure as well,

and to hold additional traffic

and to be able to move that traffic along

80 as best as possible.

And then there's some other

projects in the works to help.

Just try to do the best we can

to limit

the impacts on the traveling public.

So and we'll be monitoring that.

I will say the first couple of days

are probably going to be kind of rough.

And we know.

So we're going to

we're going to

have our ears to the ground

and make

sure that we are just trying our best to,

to help make it as.

As possible.

Recognizing that it is

a large undertaking.

Absolutely.

I just want to point out,

I mean, I feel like,

you hear a lot of good things

about them.

You're like,

maybe bad things or, you know, here.

Complaints or issues,

maybe gripes, concerns.

All fair.

Right?

Where government

employees, public sector.

That's just comes with the territory.

This to me is an excellent example,

of your state agency

and Mdot specifically

using every resource available

along with,

I mean,

I almost unquantifiable,

unquantifiable, unquantifiable,

easy for me to say amount

of forethought and planning.

I mean, we're talking about years

in advance of this major, major project,

work

going on on all these enslaved routes.

So that if when we get ready to do this

big project,

if something were to go wrong,

how can we accommodate that traffic?

How can we accommodate

during the detours?

I mean, yes.

And years of advanced planning and work.

And it's one thing

to just put pen to paper and say,

hey, we're going to do these.

And then a couple of years

later, we're going to these.

You're talking

about the financial obligations

of years of budgeting

and crossing over with federal highways.

Our our appropriations bill, which worked

currently under a continuing resolution,

would even have

a, you know, a major infrastructure bill

going forward.

I don't think you could really

ask or expect any more,

of the Mdot

professional staff

than what's been accomplished

on this project.

If I, you know, I just I'm

maybe a bit biased.

I'm inside the building here, but,

you know, everybody wants to be better

and more efficient

and do things better

and differently and change

as things come.

I've seen that happen

on a daily basis here

since since I got here

about a decade ago.

Not that Mdot was horrible

or bad or inefficient, then.

I don't think so. But,

by every count,

I think that we have stepped the game up,

and raised the bar across the way.

And again,

this to me

is just such a great example,

of a real full build out

years in advance of planning

and roll out now.

A couple things I want to that,

that that made me think of

is there are some

items that have been included in this job

in order to help

mitigate some of that impacts

that are different

or above

and beyond

what we would

have done in a standard job.

So one of them is

we have a rolling service

patrol on the job.

So that is designated to this work.

What that'll be

is, is basically a towing company

that will work the limits of the job

to try to move any vehicles

that might impede the traffic

along the corridor out of the way.

So tire comes off.

They'll get the tire, you know.

Yeah. To clean it up.

They'll clean up the area,

make sure that it is it it

the impacts are not due to

Steve Bender monitor.

Right. Yes.

We also will have blue lights,

so I will,

I will touch on the

I it's it's a should be probably

an entire podcast in itself

about work zone safety. Sure.

I think we have talked about safety

a whole lot in this job.

That is really, really important to us.

We will have increased

law enforcement on the job,

as I had said before.

We we plan the day to day closures around

traffic, known historical traffic volumes

to try to reduce that impact.

If you are seeing impacts

on a day to day basis.

It is most likely due to accidents

within the work zone.

And there is a lot of statistics

out there

that show that those

accidents are generally caused by people

that are driving

too fast in the work zone

or distracted driving.

And so, we cannot say enough

how important it is for

people to use works and safety

through here.

We, on a day to day

basis, are going to have around 100

workers out here at any one time,

and then

in most of it's going to be at night.

Most of it is going to be at night

and on weekends.

And then

on some of these higher work times,

we're going to have

almost 200 people

working out there at any one time.

So it is critical for us

to ensure that you, as the driver,

get home safely.

Other drivers get home safely.

But we also allow these men and women

out here

working to get home safely as well.

So works on

safety is going to be very critical.

They will be blue lights

throughout the entire corridor.

Just help.

We want people to

travel through here safely

and get through here efficiently,

but that doesn't always mean

that you're going to be going fast.

Slow.

Is oftentimes better.

Through these work zones,

we want people to slow down.

We want you to get through there

safely though.

And so that's you will see

a lot of blue lights on the job.

And then we also have the largest

smart work zone

incorporated into this job

than we've ever done in the state.

So what a smart work zone is,

is it monitors the traffic speeds

and the traffic volumes

through the work zone.

And then it provides real time alerts

back to drivers

as they are approaching the work zone

or they're in the works.

And so it'll tell drivers

you are approaching stopped vehicles.

You're approaching

queued vehicles you are

it might just tell you

you're approaching a word zone.

So it's trying to give that information

to drivers

before they get to the work zone,

so they know the expectation

when they get in there.

And that has been a huge planning effort.

I think it's really going to be great

and really going to be able

to communicate to drivers

well in advance.

That way you can plan accordingly.

As a driver,

I would pair that with,

you know

what, we talk about using them

dot traffic app all the time around here.

So this would be a great example

of something you know.

All right I'm getting ready

I got a big spare

today for my house

and Brandon Floyd area.

I'm going to check it.

You know. All right.

I'm looking at the Mdot traffic app.

Maybe you go straight to the big fix

our website and look at the interactive

traffic map there.

But you could legitimately look see. Hey.

All right man,

they're moving pretty good

I'm going to go through there.

Let me make double sure.

Let me open the camera

and I can watch the live

traffic there real quick.

It's moving pretty good. Let me go.

Get on the highway.

We don't want you looking at your phone

and checking,

you know,

maybe the the cameras or things.

However, there's going to be a great

big billboard

sort of coming up quick on you

as you get close to that work zone.

It'll let you know,

hey, it's going to be slow,

you know, or whatever

that queue time is, I think, you know,

so you'll be able to pair that

with checking before you go.

And then even as you're

approaching the work again,

I usually have a couple of kids,

you know,

my three kids in the car

and we got Disney

radio blaring,

and everybody wants a different song,

and probably not ideal

for me to look up and say, all right,

this that work zone

backed up today or not,

there's going to be a sign

on on the visible highway

coming up to let you know.

So I love that.

And one other thing I wanted to mention,

because I know

we're probably getting to, you know,

wrapping up on time,

but I do think it's valuable to note,

as as we said,

we procured this project,

alternative delivery.

It has been a huge benefit

to the schedule.

It's been a huge benefit

to the means and methods of the job,

and just ensuring

that we can get all of the

scope done in this project.

But that's

not to say it was a large undertaking.

And we had a

an amazing project development team

that worked on this job for nine months.

On average, I would say we probably met

about four times a week.

Sometimes it was

we were meeting every day.

So we have the JV

that is the contractor on the job.

That is Yates Key.

They are two Mississippi

based contractors.

They are have done

a ton of work in this corridor.

They know this corridor

better than anybody.

Immensely qualified right.

Very qualified to do this work.

They it's a bridge repair primarily.

It's bridge

repair work,

which is very difficult

because you're working

on aged infrastructure.

So you really need qualified people

that understand what it is

that they're getting into.

And they start

getting into this, these bridges.

And then also

we had our design team, which was Bulger.

They did an amazing job

delivering a very large scope of work.

Like I said,

over 45 scopes of work included in this.

They had a very large team working on it

hand in hand with us in the contractor.

Michael Baker was our owner advisor,

which just,

you know, they helped serve as, as

is basically an advisor to M Dot

through the job

to help ensure

that we were asking the right questions.

I, I always say,

especially taking on this new role,

sometimes knowing the right questions

to ask is one of the tallest tasks.

And then we also had

Ice, which is an invasive

contracting and engineering.

They were our independent cost

estimator on the job.

What they helped

do is ensure

that the cost of the job

is fair and reasonable.

And then we also had

our federal partners,

FH w a

that worked

hand in hand with us on this job.

And then we have our CNI team

which is led by Neil Schaefer.

And then they have

the sub Garver

who will be on the project.

And then of course,

our amazing Mdot staff that just

they put a lot of time and effort,

including our communication team.

You all did an amazing job and continue

to do that and roll that out.

And, our district, individuals and all

of our Mdot stop here is just

all hands on deck.

It's been on the job the whole time.

So it's been a

it's been a great experience.

It's definitely

been like

the quintessential definition

of collaboration through it.

And there's a lot of hard questions

and a lot of hard,

hard things

that we've worked through

to ensure

that this project delivery is successful.

Completely agree.

Yeah.

I mean, look,

you all put your

everyone's put their blood, sweat

and tears in this.

So to reiterate to the public like,

you know,

Will is talking about state government.

There can be some,

you know, thoughts on that.

But these are

these are

it's been a level of preparation.

And people are working

really hard for this project.

So I did want to mention

will mention the Mdot traffic app.

And I didn't want to get specific

on the website.

So right now

you can find all the information

that you need

just to get a really good job

of laying everything out.

But anytime you want go to go

dot dot com forward slash the big fix.

And there's a ton of information

on the project.

And you know we'll be adding to it.

So like you know

when the detours finalized

you know when there's other elements

that we need to get out to the public,

find everything there.

So please visit the website.

Absolutely. We're very proud of it, too.

It looks good. It looks great.

Keep going. Yeah. No doubt.

Do want to shout out Christy and Ben

who've also worked with you.

I mean Christie's been so she

she did a lot of work on the website and

really good people.

So that right shout out

Brown Christy as well of course.

Yeah.

Certainly couldn't have done it

without them.

Our IT professional Cameron

Brown as well.

There you go.

Another developer over there.

So really really really good stuff.

So that yeah that's the big fix.

The I 20 I-55

freight corridors

improvement project,

also known as the big things

big deal be going on.

Anything else you wanted to mention

in alternative deliveries real quick.

Anything else that's going on?

You know,

we touched on the digital delivery.

That's a huge,

that is a also a

very collaborative effort.

That's something that we mdot

we're very passionate

about moving forward.

We have some collaboration teams

that we have put together

to help work on that.

And that's something

that we really want

to continue to progress forward.

We feel like

it is a huge benefit

to projects,

to be

able to incorporate new processes

and procedures, to make projects

be delivered more efficiently

and with better quality.

And we feel like

this is the way that that happens.

So we have a few pilot projects

that we've identified

that we would like to progress

forward with digital delivery.

So that's something that we hope

in the near future,

we'll be able to give

some cool updates on

and let you know how that's going.

Maybe that can be, you know, round four.

I don't know.

And then we have some alternative

once we close this out.

This is probably our this is our biggest

alternative delivery project

that we've done to date.

But we want to keep progressing

that program forward.

We want to keep growing it.

We want to keep refining it.

We want to make it a great program.

That's an amazing tool for Mdot.

To be able to deliver projects

in a different way as they see fit.

So whenever we there's a pretty

rigorous process

that we go through to identify

what projects

are appropriate

for these delivery methods.

But they they're certainly out there.

And this delivery method

also helps us have a tool

to be able to respond to emergencies

and help respond to economic development

and things that have maybe

alternate timelines

than just our standard projects.

I know another thing that you

guys work on

spend a lot of time on

because I keep getting the emails.

Grants. Always working on grants.

Yes.

We are always trying to find,

additional funding for Mdot to be able

to move our projects forward

and then make the most of the money

that we are able to receive from our

legislative partners.

We are very grateful for that.

And we want to

make the most of those funds

and be able to provide

additional matches

to them

and be able to make those projects,

you know, the best they can be and,

and move our projects board.

So and that is no small potatoes.

Out there for my Marvel fans,

that's a whole lot of work.

I don't know how many of us out there

put together a grant application before.

It is not a three paragraph essay.

It is a bit more detailed

and they have to be,

we want to ensure the accuracy of those

whenever we put them in.

So we,

we try to be as diligent

as possible to make sure that if we are

thankfully successful,

which we are very grateful for,

every single

opportunity that we have,

we can also deliver on our promises.

So this is a team of 3 or 4 people,

by the way. Two down there.

You guys are crushing it.

They do have a lot of work.

Yeah, we get that money, right?

That's right.

All right.

And then lastly,

I think there's just one other thing.

The electric

the electric vehicle program.

Yes.

So we have

we've we've come a long way on that.

That was prior to the

there was no electric vehicle program

in the state of Mississippi.

So we have put together

a lot of information on that.

And we are hoping to be able

to move that forward here

in the next few months.

Okay.

So to

everyone will see

some information on that, I'm sure.

Well, listen, we,

we got in the technical weeds today,

so let's,

let's back out

and we'll take it away with the

the food question.

Yeah, absolutely.

So we joked

we can't remember

what your suggestion was

last time we were on the show.

It has been a little while,

but as you're familiar,

we love to talk about food

at the end of this episode

or at the end of every episode.

So maybe a food spot

that you don't get to go

by often, that you need time?

You're in the area,

got to swing by here,

or maybe something new that you've tried.

Okay. Yeah.

So we actually, me, my family,

we just spent the last weekend

in New Orleans. Okay.

And every time we go to New Orleans,

we eat at an amazing restaurant

called Dominica. Okay.

It is a John Bass restaurant.

He has several restaurants

down there, including, Luke August.

He has he has a ton.

And he has amazing food.

So if you ever

just are trying to look for like,

a great location,

you know, search

any John Bash restaurant,

you're going to love it.

But Dominica, it's Italian.

And I saw one thing on their menu

that was added or I hadn't seen before.

Maybe.

I don't know if it was added.

I hadn't seen before

because it had been a while

since we had gone.

Is there squid ink pasta?

And it reminded me of a restaurant

we actually have here

locally called Polito.

So that is an Italian restaurant

that's over there in Belle Haven

and they are amazing.

If you haven't eaten there, we ate there.

It was an anniversary or some.

We were celebrating something.

But it's Italian.

I mean, it was one of the best

dinners I've ever had.

Okay. And so if you.

I don't think they're squid

ink pasta is maybe.

I think it's a special.

They run.

It was it was delicious.

I know, you know, maybe.

Maybe.

Doesn't quite

sound like something

you would order off of a standard menu.

But it was it was phenomenal.

But they have other great dishes.

And it was,

it was a really, really good dinner.

So very good. That is

definitely have not

had that one mentioned yet.

I don't think Dominica.

I don't think so, but little Austria.

A couple times for sure.

I still haven't been,

but I went for the first time on Friday

and ate half a chicken.

It was awesome.

Stress ate half a chicken.

They get one.

Were you stressing

because of the big fix?

The big fix? No, not at all.

The Caesar salads.

An elite Caesar salad. Very.

That's a good.

I love a good Caesar salad.

See, Sal,

I also had

we had a Caesar salad and we ate it.

Domenico.

And they did it in the full leaves

like it wasn't chopped.

Oh, my gosh, it was so good.

We're gonna get our Simpson County boy,

I know.

Waiting for something.

You would like it?

You don't have a whole nother

episode on just what that is.

Probably just Google it.

I'm sure that's amazing.

That's a really good answer.

And lots of good things

going on in Belhaven, for sure.

Yeah.

Let's, let's say

one more thing about the big fix.

Yeah, visit the website and then highway.

Mike, we forgot to visit

highway Mike,

you're going to be seeing a lot

about big fix

over the next two and a half years.

And he's kind of going

to guide the process along

and show

everybody we're gonna have

a little bit of fun with it, too.

So, look out for some highway

Mike Michael Flood Facebook

post for sure.

Let's go ahead and wrap things there.

Lots of information to digest.

Jessica,

thank you so much for stopping by

and hanging out with us.

Thank you all for having me.

It was great.

And you know, this is a great project.

I know that it is

going to be an inconvenience

for a few years,

but when we come out of these two

and a half years,

it will be

a large improvement to the area.

We will look

at reducing a lot of future impacts

and a lot of future traffic

inconveniences.

So if you can just be patient with us

for two and a half years,

let us get through this.

I think in the end, you'll

you'll

all will be very pleased

and very happy with with the results

and hopefully, reduce your impacts

and get you where you're going.

Safely and

quickly as possible.

I'll do one more.

I'm sorry.

To me, this is a a heap on this.

Maybe a little too hard, but like,

this is another great example.

Or this is a

great example of things that me as a

a 30 year

old taxpayer in central Mississippi.

This is the stuff

I want to see from my state agencies.

We're talking about the pain now

for so much

less pain in the future, right?

We're going to deal with the issues now.

It will be a little more stress,

a little more strain,

but that is to alleviate so much extra

and additional work and stress issues

in the future.

I mean, that is this is something,

I guess, a best practice I'd want to see

from our state agency.

So again, I'm proud of the work.

Very proud of the work.

Yeah,

I am proud of everyone

that worked on this job.

It was a large undertaking.

But everyone,

everyone did showed up and put it all in.

So it's going to be great.

Top notch.

Let's go ahead and wrap things there.

Thank you to our listeners and viewers

for tuning into the Extra Mile podcast.

You can watch

and listen to episodes

by visiting dot dot com forward

slash the extra mile.

Follow us on social media

at Mississippi Dot is the handle there?

Thank you to our editor

producer Drew Hall, for holding things

down behind the scenes.

Remember to drive

smart out there on Mississippi highways.