(From Pearl River Revitaliation)
- Retail space, walking and bike paths, and nature areas could be developed, prompting an economic resurgence in downtown Jackson, say local leaders supportive of the plan.
The Pearl River Flood Control Project in the Jackson region could be a boon for economic development for the capital city, leaders said Thursday afternoon.
The flood prevention project will offer business opportunities for commercial and recreational development, Keith Turner with the Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District told Magnolia Tribune.
Along both banks of the river, he said, retail space, walking and bike paths, and nature areas could be developed, prompting an economic resurgence in downtown Jackson.
“On both sides of the river, we’re going to have economic development, whether that be mixed use or restaurants,” Turner said, noting that the project will help Jacksonians avoid flooding. “They’re not moving their furniture every spring.”
Jackson officials agreed as the city’s water crisis is still fresh in their memories.
“The last flood was probably one of the lowest points for Jackson. It led to the water crisis. International attention for all the wrong reasons,” Jackson Mayor John Horhn (D) said last week. “And we saw some of the most dramatic population declines in our community. We’ve been through some difficult times in recent years, but Jackson is rising.”
However, the restaurants and walking paths are not coming soon. The estimation for the first phase of the design and wetland mitigation completion is upwards of two years. There are also a “few” environmental components that needs to be completed.
“Then we’ll begin implementing the project as we arrange for financing,” Turner said. “There are a lot of parts and pieces.”
Not everyone is supportive of the flood prevention project, which is aimed at protecting hundreds of homes and businesses in Hinds and Rankin counties.
Officials are much more receptive to the plan than what was known as the One Lake Project. Worried about the One Lake plan, officials and residents along the riverbank feared the increase in surface water elevation, which a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Draft Environmental Study noted.
The report found that nearly 700 acres of bottomland hardwood would be impacted as would 55 acres of swamp lands. To offset the loss, land upstream would be purchased and mitigated.
“There are a multitude of lands available to us upriver,” Turner said. “Some folks mitigate outside of a river basin. That’s not helping the environment. So, we want to mitigate in the Pearl River. And there are thousands of acres upriver that we want to protect forever.”
In late February, a group of leaders and environmental groups held a press conference stating Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle, the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, has selected a project design to help the Jackson metro area move the flood plan forward.
That announcement caught the Corps of Engineers off guard, as they found out about it the night before it occurred.
Yet, Turner pushed aside concerns about a lack of communication.
“I think traditionally the Corps doesn’t do those kinds of things, except maybe like during a recorded decision or signing of agreements and things,” Turner said. “I’m speculating, because, as I say, I don’t know why they chose not to be as public as we were.”
The project is not cheap. The Corps estimate runs between $700 million and more than $970 million. However, Turner said Thursday, it could be done for about half the price.
“We think it is in the $450 to $500 million range,” he said, adding that a design agreement will address the final cost to taxpayers.
A formal decision from the Corps is expected after they release their final report and allow for a 30-day comment period. The timeline for this remains unclear.
