A section of Old U.S. Highway 80 that closed in February after it was damaged by heavy rain earlier in the year reopened Tuesday afternoon, according to Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace.

State officials on Feb. 11 closed the section of the major thoroughfare between the cement plant and Mount Alban Road after runoff from heavy rains eroded the highway’s shoulder and caused the roadway to fail, making it unsafe to travel.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation in June awarded a $339,787.50 contract to Theobald Construction LLC of Vicksburg to repair the section of the highway that was damaged in January and February, and work began on the repairs in early June.

The damage was not the first time the road was closed.

In 2016, erosion caused by two days of heavy rains forced state officials to shut down both lanes of a section of U.S. 80 at Thornhill Road to repair a washout that removed dirt from under the highway’s westbound lane.