A stretch of Highway 84 in eastern Lincoln County will be openedto four-lane traffic beginning Tuesday morning, said officials withthe Mississippi Department of Transportation.

The 7.5-mile section of Highway 84 from the end of the bypassnear East Lincoln Road to the Lawrence County line will be readyfor four-lane traffic around 10 a.m. Tuesday. MDOT officialsadvised motorists to be aware of the change and drive slowlythrough the area.

“I think everything’s going to go real well,” said Steve Smith,MDOT project engineer.

Smith attributed recent progress on the project to goodweather.

“Since we’ve gotten some good weather, we’ve been making someheadway with it,” he said.

Smith said work on the east Lincoln County section started in1997 with road grading. He estimated the grading and related workat around $10 million, while the paving contract was $14million.

“It takes a lot of time due to the weather,” Smith said aboutlength of the project.

He is one of several MDOT employees to have worked on thefour-lane project from the beginning. He was proud of hisassociation with the work.

“It’s good to help start something from the ground up and seethe finished product,” Smith said.

The project, though, is not quite finished.

Smith estimated that work would be going on for another month ortwo. He said some paving and overlay work still needs to bedone.

“We advise the public to remain cautious while driving throughthe area,” he said.

Smith said a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the four-lane sectionwould be scheduled at a later date.

The Highway 84 four-lane project is part of the 1987 Four-LaneHighway program. The legislature-approved program was intended toexpand and improve over 1,811 miles of state highways.