For Immediate Release
Contact: Tracy Young, MDOT public affairs, (601) 359-7017
CLARKSDALE, MISS., Wednesday, July 11, 2001—Transportation leaders met with local officials today in Clarksdale to discuss the proposed Interstate Highway 69 Corridor. The purpose of the meeting, led by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration, was to inform local leaders of a new study just getting underway that will evaluate possible environmental impacts of the I-69 corridor.
Representatives of state agencies, municipal and county government and private groups from several Delta counties and cities, including Coahoma County and Clarksdale, attended the meeting.
According to Claiborne Barnwell, MDOT environmental engineer, as the study progresses a series of public meetings and hearings will be held in Tunica, Clarksdale, Cleveland, and Benoit. Delta residents living in these areas are encouraged to attend.
"Public involvement in the development of this new interstate highway is important," Barnwell said. "It is our intention to provide information and receive comments and suggestions from all interested groups and individuals throughout the study process. In this manner, the public will be provided the opportunity to become involved and we will be able to provide a transportation facility that will better meet the needs of the public."
Barnwell said once the dates and times for future meetings have been determined, citizens will be notified and invited to attend through advertisements in the local media.
I-69 is a 1,600-mile-long national highway that would ultimately connect Canada to Mexico and cross the Mississippi River between Arkansas and Mississippi. The corridor, which extends from north to south, includes nine states – Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.
So that each state’s transportation agency would have the responsibility of addressing an area’s particular needs, the corridor was divided into 32 sections. Within Mississippi, four of these sections are defined beginning with number nine and ending with number 12 (see map).
Today’s meeting concerned section 11, which will begin just east of Robinsonville in Tunica County and will continue southwest through the Delta and end near Benoit in Bolivar County.
I-69 will serve regions and communities that currently do not have direct access to the US Interstate Highway System. In particular, the lower Mississippi Delta, which is expected to benefit from new opportunities for economic growth as well as improved access to education, health and commercial services. When finished, the corridor is expected to help move four billion tons of freight from fields to factories and stores nationwide.
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