The Mississippi Department of Transportation is working on a highway safety project down Highway 43 North that is expected to be complete within about a year.

The goal of the safety project is to realign three curves on Highway 43 N in Pearl River County to make them safer.

Steven Parker, MDOT Engineer for the Pearl River County area, said the work will lessen the degree of curvatures in the areas of Wheat’s Curve, Cybur Curve and a curve in the Henleyfield area, making them safer for traffic.

The construction cost for the project is an estimated $4.9 million and the contract was awarded to Huey P Stockstill Inc. in Pearl River County.  Parker said work to clear trees at the three sites is already underway at Wheat’s Curve and Cybur Curve. In the Henleyfield area the project is nearly ready for earthwork and asphalt.

“The project started a year ago and is almost 40 percent complete from the time standpoint,” Parker said.

Depending on weather conditions, the project is expected to be complete by late 2018 or early 2019.