Giant cross raises over Saltillo along intersection of Highway 45, 145

SALTILLO, Miss. (WCBI) – A giant cross was raised in Lee County after a grassroots fundraising effort.

The 120-foot steel and aluminum cross was set in place this morning, on a half acre of donated land at the intersection of Highway 45 and 145.

Hundreds of onlookers were on hand to witness the 47,000-pound cross as it was lifted and set in place.

The entire cost of the project, about $200,000 dollars, was raised through the nonprofit organization called “Cross 33”.

“A lot of people ask me, the question, ‘Isn’t that a lot of money to spend for a cross?’ And I ask them the question back, ‘If one person drives by Highway 45 and looks at this cross and stops to think about what Jesus Christ did on there and he has a conversion moment, can you put a price tag on his soul?’ And I’ve got no one to answer that question, I don’t think there is an answer, because, that’s what it’s all about,” said Mike Rozier, Rozier Construction.

With the raising of the Saltillo cross, Rozier said Mississippi has more crosses along highways and interstates than any other state in the U.S.

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