Buc-ee’s is done, but what about all that I-10 roadwork? Here’s latest from MDOT

Roadwork across Interstate 10 is on schedule and expected to cause less traffic this year, even after an influx of visitors to the new Buc-ee’s travel center, state transportation officials said this week.

Crews are still building another lane in each direction between Diamondhead and County Farm Road. But Anna Ehrgott, a public information officer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said the agency is planning few lane closures. It has also solved a problem that for weeks had opened large potholes on the interstate that caused gridlock and frustrated drivers.

“We’ve really seen far less issues with that moving forward,” she said.

The busy stretch of I-10 in Hancock and Harrison counties has been under construction since 2023, when officials started planning for Buc-ee’s. Crews are reconstructing the Diamondhead exit, expanding I-10 from four to six lanes and have already replaced the Menge Avenue bridge and widened ramps at the exit where the beloved store opened this week.

Traffic mostly flowed smoothly on Monday at the Buc-ee’s exit, where 53,000 cars pass each day. The roadwork nearby will continue until 2027. But Ehrgott said construction to widen the Vidalia, Kiln-DeLisle and Wolf River bridges would probably be done by the end of this year.

The problem with potholes, which started forming last year when heavy trucks put too much weight on a pipe beneath the newly widened interstate shoulder, was fixed several weeks ago. It went relatively unnoticed because crews worked overnight. Ehrgott said a contractor removed the pipe and replaced it with drainage material that can hold enough weight.

For months, MDOT asked trucks to use the left lane to avoid putting pressure on the pipe. But Ehrgott said this week that truckers can now use either lane even though signs asking them to stay left have not been removed yet.

The inconvenience slightly delayed the widening project, Ehrgott said. “But that’s pretty much been handled now and things are moving along at a good pace.”

And in Diamondhead, Ehrgott said, roadwork is ahead of schedule. Crews have already closed, expanded and reopened three ramps. The eastbound entrance ramp, which was the last to close, is expected to open in two to four weeks.

Ehrgott said no major closures in Diamondhead are planned after that, and the project is scheduled to finish by 2026.

This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.