State Sen. David Jordan would like to use $250,000 he received from the state to improve U.S. 49 in Greenwood.
On Monday, the Greenwood Democrat met with an engineer from the Mississippi De-partment of Transportation, Ward 6 Greenwood City Council member Dorothy Glenn, and Reginald Moore, the president of the Leflore County Board of Supervisors, on the shoulder off the highway to discuss improvements that could be made.
To start, Jordan said he would like to cut the trees and foliage back off the shoulder along the south side of the highway since it blocks the view of an exit sign that lists the turnoff points for the cities of Winona, Clarksdale and Indianola.
Additionally, on this same side, Jordan said he would also like to fix the drainage area, where the growth of trees and brush has clogged up the area.
“I want Highway 49 coming into Greenwood to look good,” he said.
This drainage ditch along the south side of U.S. 49, which is covered by trees and brush, is another area along the highway that state Sen. David Jordan said he would like to address with the $250,000 he received from the state. (By Gerard Edic)
He said he will contact the city of Greenwood and the Board of Supervisors to inquire whether they can help address the highway issues.
The money for these improvements comes from a bond bill passed by the Legislature earlier this year and signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves.
Jordan, whose senatorial district also includes Holmes County, said that $6 million has been allocated from the bond bill for that county for road repairs.
Ideally, Jordan said he would like to use the $250,000 he received for improvements along U.S. 49 to go all the way south until it connects with Holmes County but said the quarter of a million dollars can only do so much.
Jordan said he would hear back from the engineer he met with sometime within the next few weeks about improving U.S. 49.
Additionally, Jordan, along with Sen. Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, each got $250,000 from the bond bill to address improvements for Mississippi 7 in their districts.
Jordan said he plans to speak with Chassaniol in the near future about the state highway.
“As you know, Highway 7 needs to be four lanes,” Jordan said of one proposed suggestion that state lawmakers have deliberated before.
He said that the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package — passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this month and now facing a vote in the U.S. House — if passed could be used to expand Mississippi 7.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
