Nov 12, 2022 - Tupelo, MS
by: Caleb McCluskey, Daily Journal
Lee County officials hope to put a portion of the county’s American Rescue Plan Act allocation to use with major drainage and infrastructure upgrades to Turner Industrial Park Road.
The Lee County Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously among present members to authorize the advertisements of bids for a $2.5 million project to complete water and sewer improvements on Turner Industrial Park Road, which is within an unincorporated area surrounded by Saltillo.
“(The expansion) allows a little more marketability to the unused areas of the park, so it will hopefully help with the economic and industrial development of the park,” County Administrator Bill Benson said.
Tupelo-based consulting firm Cook Coggin Engineers was in charge of the design process and is preparing the project for bids.
Cook Coggin Principal Engineer Mark Weeden said the project will expand the existing water and sewer lines a little over 2,000 feet apiece, adding they expected construction to begin early next year and be finished no later than the beginning of summer.
Though not inside of Saltillo’s corporate limits, the city does provide water and sewer to the area, Benson said. Weeden noted the road would not be closed during construction.
The state and the federal government allocated the county $16.6 million in ARPA funds that must be used for specific projects, including to support public health expenditures, to address the economic impact of the pandemic, to replace lost revenue, to provide premium pay for county essential workers or to invest in water, sewer or broadband infrastructure.
Benson said the county was able to allot $10 million of the total to replace lost revenue. He said the money can be used with less restriction, but it had not been allocated for any specific projects as of Monday. That leaves a little over $4 million of unallocated funds that must be allocated by 2024 and used by 2026.
