‘Tis the season for holiday travel. With more vehicles on the highways, the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) wants to help keep your holidays merry and bright by limiting travel delays caused by highway construction.
MDOT will suspend all interstate and four-lane highway construction during peak Christmas and New Year’s travel times. All road construction requiring lane closures will stop December 24 and 25 and again December 31 and January 1. The closures will provide maximum travel capacity and minimal construction delays for holiday travelers.
“Even though no highway construction work will be occurring across the state, motorists should be aware that some lane closures will remain in place,” said Melinda McGrath, P.E., MDOT Executive Director. “These lane closures are there to protect motorists, and MDOT urges drivers to treat these areas as active work zones.”
Christmas and New Year’s are among the busiest travel days. MDOT actively monitors highways statewide through its Traffic Management Center (TMC). Information is gathered by roadway devices deployed throughout the state. Devices such as cameras, speed detectors and weather sensors feed data to the TMC about real-time road conditions. A network of over 1,000 cameras gives operators live views of highways.
The TMC shares information through MDOTtraffic.com and the MDOT Traffic mobile app. Users can sign up for email or text alerts and also access live highway camera feeds. The resources are available free to the public. Major alerts are also posted on the @MississippiDOT Twitter account.
“Travelers can know before they go about traffic along their routes,” McGrath said. “MDOT Traffic can help you avoid frustration by alerting you of upcoming congestion or crashes.”
In addition to the MDOT Traffic website and mobile app, real-time road conditions will also be posted on overhead digital message signs along state highways.
“Using these communication channels, MDOT is able to quickly and effectively notify travelers of concerns that may affect their plans,” McGrath said. “MDOT wants everyone to enjoy the holiday season with loved ones by making it to their destinations safely.”