Acquisition of rights-of-way for a new interchange at Liberty Road and Seargent S. Prentiss Drive is well under way, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation officials.

Meanwhile, in the last month the department has added treated timbers under the bridge, which is deteriorating due to age, to reinforce the existing concrete supports.

Some concrete is already separating from the outside of the iron supports, Brown said.

&uot;That bridge is probably 50 or 60 years old, and it’s taken a lot of use in its history,&uot; said Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown, executive director of the MDOT.

&uot;We would close it immediately if there was a danger of it collapsing. … But in doing this, we’re trying to prevent something serious from happening.&uot;

MDOT District Engineer Darrell Broome said replacing the bridge is vital to keep traffic flowing along U.S. 61, a main corridor for the western part of the state.

All this underscores the need for the bridge to be replaced, which would be a part of the interchange project, Brown said.

The project would be a modified partial cloverleaf with turnoffs on Seargent S. Prentiss Drive.

The department is now acquiring rights-of-way for the project. More than 10 percent of the rights-of-way have been acquired, Broome said.

&uot;We have plans almost complete and are coordinating with the utility companies now,&uot; Broome said.

&uot;Next year &045;&045; hopefully early next year &045;&045; we’ll be ready to let the project.&uot;

Because the nearby Natchez Trace Extension should be finished by the end of this year, MDOT wants to speed the Liberty Road interchange project as much as possible, Broome has said, to better handle increased traffic.