Transportation departments from Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi will receive more than $9.8 million in U.S. Department of Transportation funds to work on four Mississippi River bridges.
Federal funds and an estimated $900,000 in private contributions will be spent on Intelligent Transportation System upgrades on Natchez, Vicksburg, Greenville and Helena bridges along the Mississippi River.
“It became very clear after the flood back in May that we need to improve the way we monitor the Mississippi River and the bridges that cross it,” said Mississippi Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall. “The investment of a more accurate and timely monitoring system will be a benefit to not only Mississippians but everyone who depend on these bridges and waterway for economic and recreational purposes.”
The preliminary design plans to create a multi-modal transportation monitoring system that will detect highway and river incidents that will help facilitate a faster emergency response time. Another goal is to improve the mobility and security of highway and marine freight traveling along and across the Mississippi River.
