HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $21.3 MILLION GRANT FOR HIGHWAY 49 IMPROVEMENTS AT MENDENHALL

HYDE-SMITH ANNOUNCES $21.3 MILLION GRANT FOR HIGHWAY 49 IMPROVEMENTS AT MENDENHALL

Senator Supported Miss. Bid for U.S. Transportation Dept. BUILD Grant Funds

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today announced the approval of a $21.3 million U.S. Department of Transportation grant to improve the movement of traffic and commerce where U.S. Highway 49 intersects with Mississippi Highway 13 in Simpson County.

Hyde-Smith, chair of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, wrote a letter to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy in support of the Mississippi Department of Transportation's Simpson County application for Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant funding.

"The BUILD grant program is very competitive, so I'm grateful that this project in Mendenhall will receive funding to plan and construct a project to remake the US 49 and MS-13 interchange. This project will make travelling through this area safer and more efficient," Hyde-Smith said.

The "Enhancing Safety and Mobility on US 49 and MS-13 in Simpson County" project will include replacing two bridge structures on US 49 over MS-13 to increase vertical clearance, which will involve excavating and lowering MS-13. Additionally, the interchanges between US 49 and MS-13 will be redesigned as roundabouts.

Hyde-Smith and her subcommittee colleagues are currently working to prepare the FY2026 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill for consideration by the full Senate Appropriations Committee this summer.

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