Starkville mayor shares more about Hwy 182/MLK corridor project
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The City of Starkville is in line for federal money to help get a revitalization project over the finish line.
Senator Roger Wicker’s office informed city leaders that Starkville will receive a $20 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity or “RAISE” Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The money is to complete work that was started along the Highway 182/MLK Corridor and will include things like relocating utilities to one side of the road, and in some cases underground, along with updating water and sewer lines.
The RAISE money will help complete work started after Starkville received a BUILD grant in 2019.
“The BUILD Grant was the largest grant we had ever received. And, we fully anticipated that it would allow us to do the things that we wanted to do on that corridor. But, with the increased costs in labor and time that were associated with what we experienced with COVID, with what everybody experienced with COVID, the cost increased to the point where we simply could not afford to do it in its original form, and so we went to our legislators, and they were kind enough to see the value of the project and to offer us an opportunity with another grant to completely do the project as we had originally intended,” said Starkville Mayor Lynn Spruill.
Spruill and other city leaders believe the project will help spur prospects for economic development in that part of the city.
The Board of Aldermen expects to be opening bids beginning this week.
