HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $34.6M FOR NORTH MISS. BRIDGE BUNDLE

HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $34.6M FOR NORTH MISS. BRIDGE BUNDLE

Senator Supported Federal Funding for Rural Bridge Replacements in Tallahatchie County

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced a $34.6 million federal grant to the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) to replace three state-owned bridges on Mississippi State Route 32 (MS 32) in Tallahatchie County.

The Federal Highway Administration Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant will allow MDOT to proceed with its North Mississippi Bridge Replacement Bundle initiative, which involves replacing the Tallahatchie River Bridge, the Tallahatchie Relief Opening, and the Locopolis Bayou River Bridge on MS 32. The grant totals $34,674,688 in FY2024 funding.

"Safe, reliable bridges are essential to keeping Mississippi's rural communities connected and our local economies moving, which is important as Tallahatchie County and the region work to ramp up economic development," Hyde-Smith said. "The Competitive Highway Bridge Program was designed to help states like ours address critical infrastructure needs that might otherwise go unmet. The bridges to be replaced do not meet the modern standards needed to improve public safety and foster growth."

In addition to submitting a letter of support for the North Mississippi Bridge Replacement Bundle, Hyde-Smith also championed for continued funding for the CHBP as chair of the Senate Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

"I'd like to thank Senator Hyde-Smith for her support in advancing the replacement of these three structures through the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. Replacing each bridge includes not only new structures, but shoulders that that reduce the risk of drivers colliding with the bridge," said MDOT Executive Director Brad White. "This continued focus on safety is the kind of vision that Mississippi needs from its leaders to ensure we have the safest possible transportation network."

MDOT, which has already purchased right-of-way and utility relocation for the project, indicates that using modern structural technologies will provide a more reliable transportation network on MS 32, which is now faced with weight limitations and other restrictions on the three aging bridges.

CHBP provides grant opportunities to states with low population densities and with less than 26 percent of total bridges classified as in good condition or at least 5.2 percent of total bridges classified in poor condition, based on the National Bridge Inventory.

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