One Mississippi county is set to see three bridges upgraded courtesy of a nearly $35 million grant from the federal government.
U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) announced that $34.6 million is being sent to the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to replace three state-owned bridges in Tallahatchie County. The upgrades will occur along Mississippi State Route 32.
The funding, coming from the Federal Highway Administration Competitive Highway Bridge Program, will allow MDOT to proceed with its North Mississippi Bridge Replacement Bundle initiative, which involves replacing the Tallahatchie River Bridge, the Tallahatchie Relief Opening, and the Locopolis Bayou River Bridge.
“Safe, reliable bridges are essential to keeping Mississippi’s rural communities connected and our local economies moving, which is important as Tallahatchie County and the region work to ramp up economic development,” Hyde-Smith said. “The Competitive Highway Bridge Program was designed to help states like ours address critical infrastructure needs that might otherwise go unmet. The bridges to be replaced do not meet the modern standards needed to improve public safety and foster growth.”
Hyde-Smith, who chairs of the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, submitted a letter of support for the North Mississippi Bridge Replacement Bundle. MDOT Executive Director Brad White attributed her vouching for the product as an act that helped move the needle in securing funding for bridge repairs.
“I’d like to thank Senator Hyde-Smith for her support in advancing the replacement of these three structures through the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. Replacing each bridge includes not only new structures, but shoulders that that reduce the risk of drivers colliding with the bridge,” White said. “This continued focus on safety is the kind of vision that Mississippi needs from its leaders to ensure we have the safest possible transportation network.”
MDOT, which has already purchased right-of-way and utility relocation for the project, will use modern structural technologies to provide a more reliable transportation network on MS 32, which is now faced with weight limitations and other restrictions on the three aging bridges, according to White.