WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $111,432,520 to replace 13 bridges and rehabilitate another and $59,525,044 to support rail projects to improve railroads.

Funding for both the bridge and rail projects stems from the infrastructure bill that Senator Wicker helped negotiate as the then highest-ranking Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. 

Bridge Projects:

Senator Wicker prioritized rural corridors in his letters of support for Bridge Investment Program Grants. The grant program modernizes and enhances infrastructure, bolstering the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges.

Mississippi will benefit from $43,920,000 that will go toward rehabilitating the Coahoma County Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River (Highway 49) from Helena, Arkansas, into Lula, Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation received $67,512,520 to replace 13 bridge structures in central Mississippi: five bridges in Newton County constructed in 1929 and 1930, five bridges in Madison County constructed between 1929 and 1939, and three bridges in Lauderdale County constructed in 1928 and 1929.

Senator Wicker statement on the bridge funding:

“Mississippi’s economy and people should not be traveling on nearly century-old bridges. This bill provides the investment our state has needed to make the necessary repairs or replacements,” Senator Wicker said. “I am pleased that the bill I helped negotiate keeps bringing solutions to Mississippi.”

Rail Lines:

Improved rail lines will help deliver freight on time and increase economic development in the state. Senator Wicker has been a strong supporter of these lines, previously writing letters of support for the grants.

Specifically, the funds are dedicated as:

• $18,247,915 to expand service capacity and capabilities along the approximately 200-mile Grenada Railroad, improve road crossing conditions and safety, and harden the infrastructure to support growing freight demands in the region.
• The grant funding will allow the railroad to rehabilitate twenty-seven at-grade road crossings, add signals to improve safety in the surrounding communities, and eliminate six hundred rail joints. In addition, the project would increase the physical capacity of the Canadian National­ Grenada Railroad interchange in Canton, Mississippi, to facilitate rail service for multiple new industries and add siding capacity to reduce the number of blocked crossings.
• $2,942,412 to improve the efficiency and capacity of the Lowndes County Port’s existing tenants and operators, provide rail access to additional port properties, and subsequently induce a freight modal shift from trucks to rail and barge for the port. 
• $7,734,717 to create new rail connections to shippers and improve the safety and performance of rail shipments along the Natchez Railway. 
• This is the only east-west rail line serving rural Southwest Mississippi.
• $30,600,000 for Final Design and Construction to improve track conditions on eight Patriot railroads across the southeast. The project will focus on replacing rail, ties, and switches.

Senator Wicker statement on the rail funding:

“I was glad to support these projects. They will help create jobs, keep freight deliveries on time, and boost economic development. These rail lines will help keep Mississippi moving.”