Madison and Ridgeland have each been given $2 million by the Mississippi state legislature for their existing road projects.
Ridgeland will use their allocated state funds for its Highland Commerce Connector project. This project will create a new connector road from Lake Harbour Drive to Highland Colony Parkway that will follow only the interstate. It will act as a frontage road to open roughly 140 acres up for prime technical industrial development.
The city is also hoping this new road will improve circulation in the area, which will reduce travel time. It will also be built to accommodate truck traffic, which will aid in reducing designation-based truck traffic on Highland Colony Parkway.
The city is still seeking federal grants and state grant funds for the project as the total anticipated cost is $39 million. The city has previously applied for grants for the project including in October when the city submitted the 2022 Ridgeland Reconnect Communities grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation in hopes of being awarded a large portion of the amount needed for the project.
“This road is an important connector road that restores access to a portion of the City of Ridgeland that was severed by the interstate project,” Ridgeland’s Public Works Director Alan Hart said. “This road will provide key access to truck traffic to further limit the truck traffic on Highland Colony Parkway that services the businesses all along the road. This road will also open up access to developable land and allow Ridgeland to expand and rebrand the Technical Industrial Park.”
This project was also listed by Mayor Gene McGee as one of his top priorities for 2023 with the goal of getting the project to the point of final design and right-of-way acquisition, so it will be ready to bid either later this year or early 2024. The city has hopes of breaking ground on the project in 2024.
“It’s an important project, and an economic opportunity project that would help open up areas near I-220, particularly Tougaloo College property that is basically landlocked now, and it is very important that we get to the point of the final design, and my goal would be to get that done in 2023,” McGee said. “We are extremely grateful for the Mississippi legislature for continuing to see the wisdom in supporting the project.”
In the City of Madison, Mayor Mary Hawkins Butler said their $2 million of allocated funds will go towards supporting the combined Madison Avenue and Madison Avenue By-Pass Improvements Project.
The city has planned the roadway projects to be constructed in phases, which will consist of improving a section of Madison Avenue between Highway 51 and the railroad tracks, as well as construction of a by-pass connecting Crawford Farms to St. Augustine on Highway 51.
“We believe this project will improve the overall flow of traffic, while still preserving our historic downtown properties,” Hawkins Butler said.
The mayor said the city will be moving as quickly as possible on the first phase of the improvements on Madison Avenue from Highway 51 to the railroad tracks.
“We are always grateful for the support from the Mississippi legislature,” Hawkins Butler said.
