Mississippi Transportation Commission reviews contracts for bridges, transit and approves agenda and minutes

The Mississippi Transportation Commission met to consider a range of routine preconstruction and operations items, approving the previous meeting’s minutes and the day’s agenda and hearing staff presentations on bridge replacements, contract changes and transit grant amendments.

Staff reading the preconstruction docket said the commission staff recommended authorizing a work assignment under the roadway design master contract with TRC Engineers Inc. to provide final roadway plans for the replacement of three bridges in Tunica County at an amount not to exceed $266,716.33. Staff also recommended a supplemental agreement (effective 01/12/2026) under the quality-assurance/quality-control services contract for steel fabrication and coating to continue inspection services for girders and related components on a bridge over the Sunflower River; that supplemental agreement was listed at $60,215.04 for a revised contract amount of $268,448.58.

The Field Operations representative reported several contract adjustments tied to weather and unforeseen repair needs. One contract with Lehman Roberts Company was revised to add pay items to repair a damaged box culvert at a cost of $483,709.47 and to add 43 working days (the revised contract total was presented as $14,239,316.72). Staff also described class 3 supplemental agreements that add contract time due to winter storm damage and a class 3 agreement for shoulder repairs and widening work on I-55 with an indicated cost of $488,946.38.

On transit-related items, staff presented a supplemental agreement for Starkville MSU Area Rapid Transit under Section 5339 bus and bus facilities funding. The supplemental adds $2,582,208, bringing the revised contract total to $2,932,208, and extends the contract completion date two years to Sept. 30, 2028.

Other items presented included a proposed indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity master contract for statewide debris-monitoring services with a per-firm ceiling of $5,000,000 (commission approval required for work assignments above $250,000), an owner-advisor work assignment for a design-build project on US 49/MS 13 not to exceed $354,351.40, a proposed memorandum of understanding for an inmate litter program not to exceed $50,000 per year, a two-year PTV America software maintenance contract (IT staff recommended concurrence, not to exceed $16,450), and a research services work plan with Applied Research Associates for ground-penetrating radar and pavement model calibration at a cost not to exceed $108,000.

In administrative business, staff presented accounts payable totaling $76,889,153.06 and payroll and salary items, including commissioners’ salaries and expenses totaling $17,583.05. Legal staff requested authority to accept $7,651.35 from Progressive Insurance as full repayment for equipment damage from a Sept. 22, 2025 accident in Pearl River County and to authorize the executive director to execute settlement documents if requested.

There was limited discussion on the record. A commissioner asked for clarification on a numeric figure in one item and staff confirmed the intended figure. The commission approved the previous meeting’s minutes and then approved the agenda after motions and seconds were recorded; the chair then recessed the commission for a working lunch.

The meeting record did not show roll-call vote tallies for the listed agenda items; the minutes and agenda approval were announced as carried on the record. No final votes on the individual construction and contract authorizations were recorded in the provided transcript excerpts.

Next procedural steps noted in the meeting: delegated authorizations were recommended to the executive director for contract execution where indicated; several items (including debris-monitoring work assignments that exceed $250,000) were flagged as requiring commission action when presented as specific work assignments.