MDOT to broaden tasks after excessive stage of funding from Legislature

The 2023 funding is a file excessive for the Mississippi transportation division.

The Mississippi Division of Transportation is happy to have acquired a historic excessive stage of funding from the state Legislature in 2023, coming in at almost $2 billion, with nearly $1.5 billion earmark-free in addition to $620 million in supplemental funding.

The surplus funding will probably be used for main development tasks equivalent to emergency street and bridge restore, ports, rails and airports.

“I thank the Mississippi Legislature for offering MDOT consequential funding not seen because the 1987 Freeway Invoice,” stated Brad White, MDOT Government Director. “An earmark-free appropriation will permit the company extra flexibility to maximise federal funds and make prudent use of taxpayer {dollars}. Relaxation assured that with the belief bestowed upon the company by the Legislature, the women and men of MDOT are as much as the duty and able to get to work for the folks of the state.”

MDOT’s $620 million supplemental appropriation contains:

• $450 million for capability tasks, that are development tasks that add lanes and/or construct new roadways to extend site visitors capability.
• $100 million for the Emergency Street and Bridge Restore Fund (ERBRF), which supplies funding to revitalize native roads and bridges throughout the state.
• $30 million for a brand new fund for multimodal tasks to higher handle the wants of ports, airports and rails.
• $40 million in federal matching funds.

“This funding will permit for the additional revival of the company’s capability program—which means new development—together with addressing different essential wants,” stated White. “The ensuing tasks will enhance security, improve mobility and increase financial development and improvement throughout Mississippi. I personally thank Governor Tate Reeves who first forged the imaginative and prescient for one of these funding.”

For a number of years, MDOT has centered largely on upkeep tasks as an alternative of main development tasks attributable to lack of funding and rising prices. Funding from the 2023 Legislative Session will permit MDOT to embark on a number of main capability tasks that can improve security, alleviate congestion and assist develop Mississippi’s financial system.

In consequence, funded capability tasks now embrace:

• Pavement rehabilitation and widening on U.S. 49 from O’Neal Rd. to Faculty Rd. in Harrison County. Building on this $43 million undertaking ought to start in 2023.
• New alignment on State Route 15 from Union County line to 1 mile north of State Route 4 at Ripley in Tippah County. Building on this $150 million undertaking ought to start in 2024.
• New alignment on State Route 2 from present State Route 15 to State Route 15 bypass in Tippah County. Building on this $45 million undertaking ought to start in 2024.
• Widening of State Route 19 from State Route 492 to Tucker in Neshoba County. Building of this $65 million undertaking ought to start in 2024.
• Interchange enchancment on the Flowers interchange on I-20 in Warren County. Building of this $10 million undertaking ought to start in 2024.
• Widening on U.S. 90 from State Route 609 to Dolphin Dr. in Jackson County. Building of this $60 million undertaking ought to start in 2024.
• Widening of I-55 from Church Rd. to State Route 302 in Desoto County. Building of this partially funded $125 million undertaking ought to start in 2025.
• New alignment of State Route 7 from State Route 9 to only north of State Route 6 in Lafayette County. Building of this partially funded $150 million undertaking ought to start in 2025. 

MDOT hopes to see vital enhancements to the state’s infrastructure primarily based on this funding.