MDOT launches $400 million ‘Big Fix’ for I-20, I-55 in Jackson area
The Mississippi Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it will spend $400 million to repair and upgrade sections of Interstate 20 and Interstate 55 in Hinds and Rankin counties under a plan called the “Big Fix,” agency officials said at a press conference Aug. 25, 2026.
MDOT said the federally and state-funded project will rehabilitate 36 bridges, resurface 32 miles of roadway and deploy new technology aimed at improving safety.
Work on I-20 will run from Wiggins Road in Jackson to just east of the Pearson Road interchange in Pearl. The I-55 work will run from McDowell Road to north of the High Street interchange in Jackson. Construction is set to begin in September and is scheduled to conclude toward the end of 2028, MDOT said.
Most closures will occur at night and on weekends to limit traffic disruption, officials said. Two full closures on I-20 are planned: a 45-day westbound shutdown in the summer of 2027 and a 45-day eastbound shutdown in the summer of 2028. Agency leaders said about 110,000 vehicles use the area daily and MDOT has coordinated with local officials, emergency services and industry leaders on alternate routes. Detour routes have not yet been announced and will be posted on MDOT’s website as closures approach.
Willie Simmons, Central District transportation commissioner, said the interstate system met the engineering and safety standards when it was built in the 1950s and 1960s but that changes in vehicle size and traffic require updates. “Updating this infrastructure today isn’t about correcting the past,” Simmons said. Brad White, MDOT executive director, said the agency chose to renovate the longer stretch at once to save taxpayer money and shorten the overall timeline. “By doing the project this way, you’re turning a project that otherwise would have taken decades to be built into one that could be done within a two-and-a-half-year time,” White said. For updates, MDOT directed the public to GoMDOT.com/TheBigFix.
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