Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, Tupelo
EDITORIAL: Corridor project to increase overall accessibility
Support for construction of an 8.3-mile, four-lane divided arterial segment of Miss. Highway 76 in Itawamba County received a green light this week.
U.S. Senators Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith, and Congressman Trent Kelly made the announcement of the $52.4 million awarded from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) which will boost the automobile manufacturing corridor in Northeast Mississippi, as reported by Daily Journal writer Dennis Seid.
The DOT award is part of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program which gives support to critical infrastructure projects across the country and will support the construction of the segment of Miss. Highway 76 to Miss. Highway 25 in Itawamba County, which is the last stretch between the Toyota plant in Blue Springs, and the Toyota-Mazda joint production facility in Huntsville, Ala., that is not four lanes.
This section of Highway 76 in Itawamba County from Banner to Fairview is the final segment of Corridor V, a vital route for the automotive and furniture manufacturing industries in the Mid-South. The project was originally scheduled to begin in 2011, but was postponed due to funding constraints. The INFRA grant, matched with $43.6 million in state and other federal funds, allows the MDOT to complete the project.
The state’s transportation infrastructure provides exceptional distribution and delivery for manufacturers and gives Mississippi the ability to compete in an increasingly global marketplace.
Transportation projects can have various impacts on a community’s economic development objectives, such as productivity, employment, business activity, property values, investment and tax revenues.
Usually transport projects that improve businesses’ ability to provide goods and services, and individual’s ability to access work and and services, and reduce travel time and vehicle operating costs tend to increase economic productivity and development.
As Sen. Wicker noted, “the funding will improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of a critical segment of the National Highway System and a key connector to our nation’s freight network.”
Infrastructure is the backbone of a healthy economy and magnifies the importance of our freight rail and truck routes which move goods quickly and efficiently each day.
Mississippians deserve the best quality of life and a grant to improve our infrastructure drives us in that direction.