A total of $25.4 million in grants has been awarded to 33 projects in the metro Jackson area by the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District (CMPDD) through its Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).
The MPO grants support a wide variety of projects. Some expand capacity, such as the Yandell Road project, a road widening project in Madison County near Madison Crossing Elementary School. Others improve existing infrastructure, with roadway resurfacing projects along State Street in Jackson, Old Fannin Road in Rankin County, and East County Line Road. While others focus to improve traffic mobility and safety, such as the installation of two new traffic signals in the City of Madison along Highland Colony Parkway at Lake Castle Road and Madison Central Drive. Other safety projects provide for upgrades to existing span wire traffic signals to mast arm traffic signals such as in Pearl at U.S. 80 and Highways 49 and 468. Additionally, MPO grant funds were awarded for the repair of select bridge projects including the bridge replacement project on Gary Road in Byram and the Monument Street bridge in Jackson.
“We are really pleased with this cycle of grant awards. Funding approved today represents smart investments in community-based projects. This shows you how the region is working together to build a regional transportation network,” said Brandon Mayor Butch Lee, Chairman of the MPO Policy Committee.
Through these projects, the MPO seeks to advance the region’s transportation goals to manage the relationship of transportation, community, and environment; improving and expanding transportation choices; improving safety on the regional system; and providing a reliable regional transportation system.
Funding for these projects is available through the Surface Transportation Program, which is funded by the U. S. Department of Transportation and administrated by the Central MS Planning and Development District through its MPO planning process.
Eligible jurisdictions in Hinds, Madison and Rankin Counties submitted applications to CMPDD back in October 2021. The applications were then evaluated by CMPDD staff based on the proposed project type and assigned a project score. The projects with the highest scores were the basis for a recommendation to the MPO Policy Committee, which approved the funding for 33 projects on February 9th. Combined, cities and counties receiving the $25.4 million in federal surface transportation grant funds have committed to provide over $6.4 million in local matching funds.
“One important thing to note is this process is one step further toward implementation of the long-range transportation plan adopted by the MPO in November 2020. Each project selected represents only a small piece of a much larger long-term transportation plan,” according to Mike Monk, CEO of CMPDD.
The 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan for the Jackson Urbanized Area, which is the region’s long-range transportation plan, outlines a comprehensive blueprint of the region’s transportation system needs over the next 25-years. The plan analyzes existing infrastructure and seeks to forecast changes in the region to identify transportation improvements needed to keep people and goods moving. For more information regarding CMPDD’s regional transportation planning process or for a map highlighting the projects selected for funding visit CMPDD’s website at www.cmpdd.org.
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