Byram staff report progress on Davis Road bridge, Byram Road pour plans and Terry Road paving

Public-works staff told the board the Davis Road bridge contractor Fordyce started after a notice to proceed and has made steady progress; bent 5 is almost complete and the crew will move to bent 6 with a working-day completion target that could put the bridge opening in September if weather cooperates.

"As of today, they're almost done with bent 5. They'll roll back to bent 6," staff said, and added that the original contract allowed 72 working days; with good weather they hope an accelerated 45-working-day schedule could finish the work sooner. For the Byram Road bridge, staff said caps are formed and the contractor tentatively planned a pour for "like, 03:00 on Tuesday morning"; staff noted a redesign and pier drilling cost the project roughly a month and now projects mid-October completion for that structure.

On pavement work, staff said AJ Construction was the low bidder for the Terry Road pavement improvement project and the city expects to issue a notice to proceed in September after MDOT bid concurrence. Nighttime work was described as a possible option to improve production while maintaining traffic flow.