Two cities and three counties in Mississippi have received a boost to their roadway budgets after earning grants through a Congress-created program.
The state’s delegation announced Wednesday that $44 million in funding under the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program has been awarded to Hinds County, Ridgeland, D’Iberville, Bolivar County, and Tunica County. The program was a product of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation that U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) helped negotiate through his post as senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee.
“Improved roadways lead to improved safety and increased commerce. I have continually advocated for these investments in Mississippi’s infrastructure,” Wicker stated. “I am eager for these grants to be implemented across the state. These upgrades will provide safer, more convenient travel options for drivers and pedestrians alike.”
Projects the funding will be used on include immediate roadway repairs, safer crossings, upgraded pedestrian and bicyclist facilities, and comprehensive safety action plans.
Hinds County, the state’s most populous county, received the largest grant at $20 million. The funding will be used to reconstruct a 2.75-mile segment of Robinson Road between Interstate 220 and West Capitol Street to reduce crashes and improve multimodal safety.
RELATED: Jackson and Hinds County partner to repave roads, repair potholes
In Ridgeland, over $15.6 million was awarded to reconfigure West Jackson Street between Sunnybrook Road and Highway 51 with a corridor road diet, safer crossings, and upgraded pedestrian and bicyclist facilities. $7.92 million will be dedicated to constructing an initial phase of safety improvements on Laney Bridge Road in D’Iberville. The goal is to reduce crashes and enable a safe bicyclist and pedestrian link to a future Interstate 10 crossing.
The Tunica County Board of Supervisors received $248,000 to develop a comprehensive safety action plan. The plan will be spearheaded by leadership and planning committees, along with two rounds of public engagement, and use crash and speed analyses to produce a web-based dashboard with annual scorecards that track targets and progress. The Bolivar County Board of Supervisors received $200,000 to create a similar safety action plan.