JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – Officials announced the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a $67.5 million grant for bridges in central Mississippi.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) will receive the $67.5 million grant to replace 13 bridge structures in central Mississippi to provide new and safer crossings that are built to meet current design standards and regional traffic and freight transport needs. 

“Part of FHWA’s core mission is to connect communities, which includes the 22 bridge projects we’re funding in Mississippi and across America under our bridge investment program,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Kristin White. “This infrastructure is critical to safely get people to where they need to go and to support our nation’s economy by advancing efficient delivery of goods.”

The $67.5 million grant will replace 13 bridges in central Mississippi:

• Five bridges in Newton County constructed in 1929 and 1930
• Five bridges in Madison County constructed between 1929 and 1939
• Three bridges in Lauderdale County constructed in 1928 and 1929

These aging bridges connect rural Mississippi to urban areas, including the City of Jackson. Officials said the 13 new bridges will be designed to current standards with wider lanes and shoulders–12-foot-wide lanes and 6-foot-wide shoulders–to accommodate the safe movement of freight and vehicle traffic.