MISS. SENATORS ANNOUNCE $71.46 MILLION GRANT FOR GREENVILLE FREIGHT CORRIDOR PROJEC
Jun 19, 2020
U.S. Dept. of Transportation Grant Would Reduce Congestion in Downtown Greenville, Expedite Freight Travel
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced the award of $71,460,000 from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to construct 15.6 miles of the Greenville Bypass Freight Corridor, which will complete a U.S. 82 bypass from near the Greenville Bridge to Leland, east of Greenville.
The project builds on work initiated by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to connect the Mississippi River bridge to an interchange with MS 1.
“Completion of the Greenville Bypass is good for Mississippi and will have a significant impact for Greenville, the Delta, and the communities along U.S. 82,” Wicker said. “This major award from the U.S. Department of Transportation is the final piece of a multi-phase effort by state and local officials to ensure this highway remains a source of economic vitality for our state.”
“Work on the Leland-Greenville bypass started more than a decade ago, which makes this large grant to complete the project significant. Local and state support, along with the Trump administration’s attention to improving rural infrastructure, was key to winning this award,” said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Completing the bypass will change this region by taking heavy trucks off Greenville city streets and relying on the bypass to move freight more efficiently through Washington County. The project can also serve as an economic engine to bring more commerce and jobs to the region.”
The DOT award is part of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program.
Statement from WCEA Executive Director Will Coppage: “This bypass will bolster our competitiveness for industrial recruitment as bypass’s route will connect our two industrial parks, one in Leland and the other just outside Greenville, with our workforce training facility in Greenville, MS. Our four-lane infrastructure will be strengthened. Our community is moving forward, and I thank Senator Wicker and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith for their continued support of our community and the Mississippi Delta.”
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