MDOT presents The Extra Mile podcast.

(Paul) Welcome into another edition of The Extra Mile podcast presented by the Mississippi Department of Transportation. I’m MDOT Digital Media Manager Paul Katool. As always I’m joined by my co-host Will Craft. He handles government and constituent affairs here at the agency. And Will, we’ve been on the road for the past couple episodes and very excited to be back here at the MDOT global headquarters in Jackson.

And we’ve got the chief on the show. We’ve got MDOT Deputy Director Chief Engineer Brian Ratliff here to speak with us to give us some MDOT updates. A little information on Brian if you haven’t heard of him from previous episodes. He’s been with MDOT since nineteen 1996. He also was the DE for District 5. And he was appointed Deputy Director Chief Engineer in 2020 interesting time for sure. Brian, thank you so much for being with us today.

(Brian) Well, thank y’ all for having me.

(Will) We appreciate Miss Penny letting you come down here.

(Paul) Absolutely. Brian, a big project just wrapped up. We want to put a bow on it Highway 49 in Rankin County. You played several different roles during the project. And so, from kind of a personal standpoint you know what does it mean to wrap that project up? What does it mean for the traveling public out there?

(Brian Ratliff) Well, you know, it was a major construction project down there on 49 between Florence and Ridgeland. You know I started working on highway 49 in the right-of-way acquisition phase. Did a lot of imminent domain. Had to go to court a lot to purchase the property from landowners and stuff. And then um I was in charge of relocating the utilities down there. You know, buying the right-of-way took about three years. Relocating the utilities took about two and a half. And like you said, we’re putting a bow on that thing down there. And it took five years to see it complete. So, the travel times I’ve heard have reduced by 15 to 20 minutes depending on where you’re coming from. So, traffic has been flowing really well. And um I think it looks really really good. And um you know gotta thank the contractor Yates Construction out of Philadelphia, MS. They worked 24/7 and got that project complete.

(Paul) Excellent. Excellent.

(Will) That’s misusing over the years, right? Things popped up. Things happen unfortunately, but man, it is a gem now that it’s done. I think it’s gonna be something we can be proud of for years, right?

(Brian Ratliff) Absolutely. And you know, we talk about the local commute times going down also you know we talk about the corridor um you know the goods and services that run up from the Coast to Jackson. And um so that’s going to increase the efficiency of getting the goods and services where they need to go.

(Paul) No doubt. So, I’ve been with MDOT for six years now and I’ve noticed a pattern. So, there’s these big projects you know I-55 south Madison County, you know highway twelve in Starkville, 49 in Rankin County. And you know, it is an inconvenience for sure but it’s worth kind of just seeing things through because it seems like once they’re done people are very happy, correct?

(Brian Ratliff) Oh. Absolutely. Um and I’ve gotta commend all the residents you know Florence and Richland. They were very patient while we were down there reconstructing 49. It’s a lot smoother. It’s a lot safer. You know all those traffic signals are timed together you know. And I was driving down last Sunday, and I didn’t stop till I got to Jerry’s Seafood down there so um all the way from I-20. So, I mean I just zipped right through there and was down there in about 16 minutes, but I can’t tell you I was speeding.

(Will) But still to not have to stop from twenty all the way to Jerry’s. That’s a pretty good stretch.

(Paul) That is good.

(Brian Ratliff) It was, and it was a pleasant ride. And you know my son was in the back and he said, “Man, this is a smooth road, Dad.”

(Will) It is smooth.

(Brian Ratliff) It is. Something to be proud of so many years to come.

(Will) I am very much thankful. I don’t do nearly as much commuting up and down as I use to, but I still remember those days. Well talking about projects and especially big ones going on I-20 got some big stuff happening right now, right?

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. You know we had a ribbon cutting two days ago on I-20. We completed the bridge you know that was right there I-20 east bound around McDowell Road and I-55 south um big bridge and we did that you know in traffic. We did most of it at night. We kept lanes open, and you know kept goods and freight moving and you know getting everybody to and from work. But I’m really proud of that project the way it turned out.

(Will) Got finished a little bit ahead of time too.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. We did and um you know again I want to commend the contractor Key LLC. They’re out of Madison, Mississippi. They did an excellent job on completing that job a little early.

(Will) That’s awesome. To be honest with you, I really didn’t even notice my commuting back and forth a whole lot of traffic turnover that you know folks in other places trying to avoid it. So, I mean, I know it must have been pretty good uh they did a great job of getting folks through even while they’re working on it apparently.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. Absolutely.

(Paul) For sure. So, Brian, we just talked about putting a bow on 49 but there’s other projects going on in the state. You know, there’s a big one up in Itawamba County that people, you know don’t think about as much but can you kind of walk us through the major projects that are going on in the state right now?

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. I mean that two come to mind real quick uh Corridor V like I said in Itawamba County um we’ve basically done completed all the dirt work um we it’s turned into a paving job. We’re about 50 percent complete with the paving and we’re going to finish that project early.

(Will) Love that.

(Brian Ratliff) Absolutely. We got one up in Greenville um it’s the Greenville Bypass on Highway 82. And we’ve moved over 600,000 cubic yards of bar dirt to build that roadway. We got a little slow start starting off, but we’ve completed three box culverts and started our drill shaft construction. And like say moving the dirt has been a real good thing going on that the contractor has really accelerated and has done performed really well.

(Paul) It’s a good deal.

(Will) These aren’t really capacity projects right that we’re talking about?

(Brian Ratliff) Well, I mean they’re definitely new projects um you know new roadways. Corridor V didn’t exist before we started this and then Highway 82 bypass is um you know a new road on new alignment as well so.

(Will) What kind of are some projects you know that we talked a lot about last legislative session. We got some extra money for you know x, y and z for paving kind of moving some capacity projects ah any of those capacity things kind of moving yet.

(Brian Ratliff) Oh yeah um you know we did get you know from the legislation uh session, we’ve got uh $45 million dollars to improve our maintenance program which is basically our paving program. And we got $35 million dollars to go towards capacity projects and it specifically said to do pre-construction.

(Will) Yeah.

(Brian Ratliff) to spend those dollars and and we’ve already started uh working on those projects. We’ve identified them. The commissioners approved uh two commissions ago uh updated three-year plan and we added those capacity projects to the plan and we’re moving.

(Will) And then you mentioned it already talking about the maintenance part the money um I know inflation’s kind of hit us a little bit there.

(Brian Ratliff) Oh yeah. I mean you know the day of the $100 a ton asphalt is over um. So, you know with the additional $40 million dollars that the legislation gave us last uh for this year um basically you know inflation is eating that up, but we were able to give one district an extra paving project out of that $45 million. So, we did bring some forward, but we didn’t bring as much as we thought we could uh due to inflation.

(Will) And I’m sure that’s hitting every category of construction.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah bridge, concrete you know clay, gravel, dirt all of it you know. Basically, it boils down to trucking and labor costs that uh and you know the material is one up as well. But right now, trucking um you know getting people you know have their CDL license to get the material from the you know asphalt plant to the job. And then you know finding labor. So, that’s what that’s why we’re seeing increase price.

(Paul) For sure. So, Brian, we’re recording this episode on August 25th. Yesterday we had some pretty crazy weather.

(Brian Ratliff) Man, we had a crazy day out yesterday there’s no doubt.

(Paul) It was pretty crazy. And honestly we’re not out of the woods yet. We could see more in the coming days uh, but you know as that was happening after the fact you know we made preparation everything you know MDOT workers. Let’s talk about them. They’re the first responders. They were out there all night making repairs and things like that so, let’s pump them up a little bit.

(Brian Ratliff) Oh absolutely. Man, I you know didn’t go to bed to probably one o’clock this morning. I was listening to the radio uh CB radios and our crews were out all-night you know staying with the flooding that was occurring. You know, we were repairing, making repairs to the roadway and shoulders uh last night as well.

You know, I got a text from a buddy of mine during the day, and he had been looking at our MDOT traffic cameras and stuff. And he took a picture of um you know a guy that was standing on I-55 around Meadowbrook Road in the pouring down rain and he was shoveling to trying to unclog a drain. And you know, we think about how dangerous that is. You know, you got water in the road. And you know everybody’s driving real fast and he’s trying to get the roadway back safe to where the water can drain off there.

And you know, I wouldn’t want to be put in that situation, but our guys always step up and um you know, we don’t thank them enough and I don’t think we can thank them enough. But they really go above and beyond. And like I say, we were out working all night and you know, we’re back at it again this morning.

(Paul) No doubt. These men and women are true heroes. They put their lives on the line to make sure that everybody can get where they need to be which is truly admirable.

(Brian Ratliff) Yes. Absolutely. And like I say, I can’t thank them enough that uh you know I really don’t see how they do what they do. But they’re very, very talented very um you know they’re MDOT people. Man, they just love the state of Mississippi. They love the work. They love their co-workers and being part of the MDOT family.

(Will) Well and first responders by every merit of the definition you know. I mean generally storms come through and stuff like that. You know, people think blue lights and MEMA and stuff like that but usually they’re following an MDOT vehicle or a crew to get into these areas.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. You know, I don’t think I’ve MHP or Department of Public Safety have a backhoe.

(Will) That’s right.

(Brian Ratliff) to be able to move big trees that have fell across the road.

(Will) And you know we are certainly appreciative. And we would talk very highly about the work these other agencies do. We just think our guys get left out of that true first responder

(Brian Ratliff) Oh absolutely. You know get chainsaws, you know get skid steers, front end loaders and get that stuff out of the way to where you know we can get a fire truck, or we can get an ambulance to you know wherever it needs to be. And um usually we’re the first ones down.

(Will) And you mentioned it talk about the we’re not out of the woods yet. This is the what’s the 24th, 25th I think uh Thursday. I’m hearing Saturday the river’s supposed to crest.

(Brian Ratliff) Well, I just got off a conference call with the weather service and um

(Will) Okay. The latest breaking news here.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. Yeah. Exactly. And uh um they’re really saying it’s gonna crest Tuesday.

(Will) Okay.

(Brian Ratliff) Um I’m hearing the number of 36 feet which is uh pretty amazing. Back in 2020 I think it got to 36.6.

(Will) Yeah.

(Brian Ratliff) So, we’ll be ready to you know be able to close lanes off as needed. Um so you know, we got a pretty good um experience with you know about that level of flood you know that level of the river, what it floods first and all that so, we’ll be ready.

(Will) What were you telling me earlier something was it nine inches that Newton saw.

(Brian Ratliff) Yeah. Nine inches of rain yesterday in a 24-hour period. And then the last 72 hours in that same area we’ve gotten 14 inches total.

(Will) That’s a lot of water.

(Brian Ratliff) That’s a lot of water.

(Paul) Absolutely. Wild. Brian, uh this has been a question we’ve gotten a lot on social media copper wire theft. And you have an update on that, right?

(Brian Ratliff) Man, I’ve got plenty of copper wires

(Paull) There we go.

(Brian Ratliff) copper wire theft stories. But uh yes we did meet with the City of Jackson and the Department of Public Safety. Commissioner Tindall was there. Commissioner Simmons was there, the Director Brad White, some folks from the district, JPD, the mayor of Jackson and we were discussing Hinds County, uh board of supervisors was there as well attended, and we think we got a lot of uh good information and uh we we look forward to implementing some things to try to stop that.

(Paul) Excellent.

(Will) I can’t imagine what you know the round table trying to come up with those solutions because like you said it happens sometimes you just you know middle of the day or middle of the night you don’t know.

(Brian Ratliff) That’s right.

(Will) That right poles over there kind of tucked away from the woods. I can only imagine. That’s pretty wild. Well, we’re kind of wrapping things up here getting to the end of it. Um as you know we always hit you with the food question um refresher, so Brian mentioned last time one of his favorite places it was Mama Hamil’s. So, we’re gonna do some uh keeper fantasy football keeper rules. You cant use the same place again. Have you been to anywhere new recently maybe or have a new favorite or somebody else you should give a shout out?

(Brian Ratliff) Well, you know something that is a little lighter I like um it’s over in Pearl.

(Will) Oh yeah. Yeah. That’s right.

(Brian Ratliff) Do you remember the name?

(Will) I do. Frisco’s.

(Brian Ratliff) Frisco’s Deli. I think the first time I met you I took you there, Will.

(Will) You probably did. I had to learn how to order. You got to be quick in there.

(Brian Ratliff) That’s right. Super good service.

(Will) That’s awesome.

(Brian Ratliff) Super good food and they give you a lot. And you can get in and out of there. But you see a lot of local people there. And and you know some you see you know if I went every week I could see the same person two or three times.

(Will) And it was good too. I mean that place was packed. Every time I’ve driven by there it’s like that.

(Brian Ratliff) It’s a line out in the street every day.

(Will) Which always tells you it’s good.

(Brian Ratliff) That’s exactly right.

(Will) A new one we’re gonna throw at you a little bit different here off the beaten path. First vehicle was transportation podcast get out a little out there. What was your first car, Brian?

(Brian Ratliff) My first car was a late 1980s uh Buick Regal.

(Will) Oh yeah.

(Brian Ratliff) Two-door.

(Will) Oh yeah.

(Brian Ratliff) Two-door.

(Will) They didn’t want you to have any passengers.

(Brian Ratliff) I don’t know but uh yeah that was my first car.

(Will) I remember my Dad saying, “No, you’re gonna get a single cab because you don’t need to be driving anyone else around.” you know? I had my backpack over there. That was about all I could carry in my little truck. What about a favorite? If you could have any you know you ever had a dream ride?

(Brian Ratliff) Well sorta kind of but I’m a Ford man so, I’m a Mustang GT guy.

(Will) Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

(Brian Ratliff) Three o two

(Will) Pass everything on the highway except the gas station.

(Brian Ratliff) That’s exactly right.

(Paul) There you go.

(Will) Right on. Right on.

(Paul) That’s good stuff. So, we’ll ask you one more question before we get out of here. Uh State Personnel award uh SEC Square. How has that kind of played out for uh MDOT employees?

(Brian Ratliff) Well, you know the last time I was on um I told you that the director had made it a focus of mine to be able to get employees salaries up. We did a first round of salary adjustments, and it was well received and well deserved. And we’re still looking at doing another round of salary adjustments pretty soon and hopefully we’ll do that by Christmas. And like I say the system has really um you know helped MDOT be able to retain some folks.

You know, we had 25, 30 people that actually pulled their retirement you know ready to retire and because of these salary adjustments they’ve decided to stay. So, that means the more experienced people we were able to hold onto to where we could train some of our new people. And we’re hoping now that we’re getting our salaries to be more competitive that we will be able to actually you know hire some new people in. And while we’re retaining these older guys with the experience and to be able to train them before we put them in the management positions.

(Paul) That’s excellent. And an organization this large institutional knowledge is a huge, huge thing.

(Will) We just have one of your guys in here your EIT working through the system uh special shout out to our LPA folks for coming to visit the podcast studio.

(Brian Ratliff) He was an Ole Miss fan. I don’t know why we were leaving him out.

(Paul) Hey. Hey.

(Brian Ratliff) Well, we are getting close to football season.

(Will) This uh this Saturday, right?

(Paul) Maybe they call it Week 0. We’ll see. We’ll see. That’ll have to be uh its own special episode. We’ll do an MDOT uh college football preview. Everything will be civil. I kid.

Well, Brian, we really appreciate you dropping by, and we’ll definitely have you in the future as thigs kind of move forward on these projects and such so thank you for being with us.

(Brian Ratliff) Well, thank you for having me again. And look I support you in this podcast. I love listening to the podcast and I wish I was on the road a little more where I could listen to a lot more of them.

(Will) Thanks.

(Brian Ratliff) But y’ ’all have done an excellent job and uh you know want to just thank you for taking the time and do it.

(Will) Oh yeah, man.

(Paul) Well, we sincerely appreciate it and with that

(Will) I’m going to give all the credit to Drew though he makes us look and sound pretty.

(Paul) That is the absolute truth.

(Will) Katey keeps us in line.

(Paul) Definitely. Definitely. So, let’s wrap things up and thank all the listeners out there for tuning in to The Extra Mile podcast. We also want to thank we were just talking about it Katey Hornsby our producer and our editor Drew Hall. Remember you can listen and watch each episode by visiting GoMDOT.com/TheExtraMile. And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Severe weather, projects anything you want to find out about MDOT @MississippiDOT is the handle there. We’ll leave you with the tagline. Remember to drive smart out there on Mississippi highways.