The Mississippi Department of Transportation has published a list of nearly $200 million worth of “shovel-ready” projects it plans to fund largely with money from the federal economic stimulus package, but there is little in the list for the metro Jackson area.
In the list of 44 projects, Hinds County stands to get a traffic signal at a reworked intersection of U.S. 80 and Shaw Road. The $400,000 project is one of the smallest on the list.
The list represents a partial accounting of what MDOT plans to do with $350 million it anticipates it will receive from the $787 billion federal stimulus bill signed into law last month.
Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall said his region is benefiting the most from stimulus package – just not in the metro area. Hall said MDOT submitted a list of $600 million in projects, but only projects that could get under way in the next four months could be funded.
Magnolia Tribune
