Highway 56 Project To Start Next Week

A project to widen Highway 56 in DeKalb County will get underway next week.

TDOT Community Relations Officer Jennifer Flynn said contractors will begin clearing operations on Tuesday.

“They’ll go in first and start getting the area cleared for future work,” Flynn said. “Then, any utilities that might be in conflict with the future roadway will have to be relocated to accommodate for the widening. After that, that’s when the real construction work gets started.”

Crews plan to widen five miles of Highway 56 from South of State Highway 288 near Magness Road to East Bryant Street in Smithville. Another 3.3 miles will be widened from south of the Warren-DeKalb County line to near Magness Road in DeKalb County.

Flynn said TDOT awarded the $43.7 million project bid to Jones Brothers Contractors earlier this year.

“It was bid as two separate jobs, but it was let as one large project,” Flynn said. “Work on both of these sections will be going on as part of this project.”

Flynn said the two-phase project should be completed by May 31, 2022.