Upgrading and replacing Mississippi’s aging bridges is the top priority of the state’s Department of Transportation in the coming years, Transportation Commissioner Mike Tagert told the Greenwood Rotary Club on Monday.
Tagert, who represents the state’s Northern District, said MDOT has cut down on staffing and other costs to put more money into road projects, but he added that he’d like the state Legislature to look at providing additional resources.
“We have an inordinate number of bridges in our state. We’ve struggled with it; there’s no question about that,” Tagert said, pointing to a number of aging, deficient and posted bridges across the state. “It’s a big safety issue, and it’s an economic development issue.”
Tagert also highlighted two major upcoming highway projects on U.S. 82 in the Greenwood area over the next 18 months. Highway workers will resurface westbound U.S. 82 from I-55 in Winona to the Carroll-Leflore county line and overlay much of the highway in Greenwood.
As part of the U.S. 82 overlay in Greenwood, Tagert said, MDOT will also replace wire-hanging traffic lights with high mast arm poles. The new lights will be synchronized to improve traffic flow through Greenwood, Tagert said.
Also, a left turn lane will be added to the westbound highway near Walmart to improve safety for cars turning in to Tractor Supply and other businesses on the south side of the highway.
Moving more freight on waterways and railroads in the state would help reduce wear on the roadways and could make the state more attractive to businesses, Tagert said, pointing to the former Greenville & Columbus railroad, portions of which now sit unused.
Development of those resources required partnerships with private companies, Tagert said. “The railroads are for-profit entities. We have to provide them an environment to make money, or they don’t invest.”
In response to a question, Tagert also said the Legislature should consider selling bonds to pay for major infrastructure projects since MDOT’s debt levels and interest rates are both low.
“We have made that case,” Tagert said, adding that MDOT’s debt levels were the lowest in the Southeast. “There are some major improvements we could make if we took advantage of that.”
Tagert said that MDOT’s revenues, which come almost entirely from the gasoline tax, haven’t risen enough to cover mounting maintenance and construction needs.
Afterward, Tagert said he didn’t necessarily endorse a hike to the gasoline tax — but he said it is one of several ways the Legislature could raise more money to improve the state’s roads. “We just want (the Legislature) to look at additional resources,” he said. “There are several ways to do it, and it’s up to them.”
• Contact Bryn Stole at 581-7235 or bstole@gwcommonwealth.com.
