Mississippi gets $60 million to widen miles of Interstate 10 as Buc-ee’s comes to the Coast
President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure bill includes $60 million for the state of Mississippi to widen Interstate 10 from Diamondhead to Long Beach, according to a press release from Republican U.S. Senator Roger Wicker.
The funding will support widening the interstate from four to six lanes, starting just west of Diamondhead to just east of County Farm Road in Harrison County where an existing 6-lane segment ends.
“This grant funding will have a lasting effect for the people and businesses all along the Gulf Coast that rely on I-10 every day. Widening I-10 from four to six lanes will help to remove a major bottleneck and reduce delays, while additional improvements along the route will help keep all drivers safer,” Wicker said in the release. “Projects like these are the primary reason I have made supporting infrastructure one of my top priorities in Congress.”
Notably, the project encompasses the Menge Ave. interchange where Bucc-ee’s will be building a new location. The funding is one of two projects that are planned that will help alleviate traffic around the site of the mega-convenience store known for driving heavy traffic.
“Significant improvements will be made to that interchange. It’ll go to five lanes from two lanes,” said Bill Lavers, executive director of Harrison County Development Commission, in Sept. of 2021. “The lanes will be widened in each direction to handle the 5 million new visitors to Coastal Mississippi this project will produce.”
The grant will also support intelligent transportation system improvements in the area. According to the release, the project is expected to relieve traffic and provide more jobs for Mississippians.
The infrastructure grant is part of a $5 billion bill signed by Biden in Nov. 2021 aimed at improving highway and railway systems across the country.
This story was originally published December 30, 2022 at 2:15 PM.
