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NATCHEZ — The long-awaited project to resurface and add necessary drainage to Morgantown Road is finally set to begin after a ceremonial groundbreaking for such a project was held Monday at Lovely Lane United Methodist Church.

The first part of the project is one that is less visible, which will primarily address drainage issues underground, said Mayor Dan Gibson.

Gibson also clarified that not all of Morgantown Road would be fixed with this project, but the parts that are most heavily traveled would.

Red Loop Road to Dixie Road on Morgantown will be the first part to be overlayed followed closely by what was originally Phase One of the project, from Dixie Drive to the CVS store in Morgantown.

Officials have said the drainage issues must be addressed before the roadway can be repaired and repaved.  It has also been said that construction on Morgantown Road may cause frustrations among city and county residents, but is necessary to get the work completed.

“This is a project that I have been told has been 25 years in the works,” Gibson said. “Thank you to all of the citizens who use this roadway for your patience with us. It has been a tough job to get to this point, but it has been a lot of teamwork, and we’re really grateful that the alderman, the supervisors, the city and the county have been able to work together to make this happen.”

After the legal groundwork, design and redesign of the project, one of the main delays has been funding. Since the federal government earmarked $2.4 million for the project, construction costs have nearly doubled. When it was put out for bid, the bids twice exceeded the estimated cost by over 10 percent and therefore had to be rebid. The project is now expected to cost $4.2 million.  Dozer Construction is the contractor on the project.

“If it weren’t for the drainage issues, we could have paved this road a long time ago,” Gibson said.

Supervisor Warren Gaines, in whose district the Morgantown Road project is being constructed, thanked the attorneys of both the Board of Aldermen and the Board of Supervisors, the project engineers with IMS Engineers, Road Supervisor Robbie Dollar and the Natchez City Planner James Johnston as well as all of the elected officials who made this project happen.

“It took all of us and we work together,” Gaines said. “We’re thankful for the city and we thank James Johnson (of City Planning and Development) who did a lot of paperwork and our attorneys. We worked them tirelessly. … I’m just glad to give the people some relief. I’m glad that a lot of things are happening under our administration and that even though we have some differences, we come together and work for the better of our community and I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Supervisor Ricky Gray, who has been outspoken at many Board of Supervisors meetings regarding Morgantown Road and requested multiple updates, thanked God that the project has finally come to fruition.

“I want to thank God for allowing us to be here today because, without him, none of this would be possible. … Without God, none of us would be here today. I want to give him all the credit and all the glory. … My last request is, I hope that the citizens of this area can be patient with the process. … It’s a lot of work, and it’s going to look bad, but it’s going to end up good.”