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Officials lay groundwork for future development By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer  | Photo by Sue Watson
Thanks from Marshall County
Officials from Marshall County welcomed other dignitaries to a luncheon last week at the IDA office in Holly Springs. |
A
group representing state agencies and congressmen, combined with
members of the local delegation and elected leaders, met last week for
lunch to acknowledge the benefit of working together to solve problems
for Marshall County. U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran and U.S. Rep. Travis Childers sent representatives. The
occasion was arranged by Bill Mobley and the Marshall County Industrial
Development Authority and the board of supervisors. With the current
financial climate causing concern for government as well as business,
Mobley, executive director of the IDA, praised the cooperative work of
elected officials in obtaining crucial funding for infrastructure that
will promote growth in the Chickasaw Trail Industrial Park area and
elsewhere. He said over $8 million, designated
for an overpass on Highway 72 to tie highways into the upcoming
Memphis Intermodal Yard in Rossville, is a huge help with growth at the
industrial park and elsewhere in the county. The
appropriation will cover just over half of the expense of the overpass,
he said, necessitating the need for state agencies and elected
officials to continue to work to find the funds for completion of the
project. Calling economic development a “team
sport,” Mike Armour with the Appalachian Regional Commission, said the
combined efforts of development groups, development districts, and
state and federal agencies has resulted in “a lot of good things going
on up here.” “We appreciate all you do,” he said. Mobley said IDA has seven projects working in the Holly Springs, Byhalia and industrial park areas. “We know it is going to be a good year for Marshall County,” he said. Bill York, chairman of the IDA board, agreed. “We appreciate what you are doing for Marshall County,” he said. “Thank you and we will be calling you again.” County
administrator Larry Hall encouraged the group to hang together to get
the additional $7 million needed to construct the overpass. “It is a small investment for the people of the Marshall County area,” he said. State
Sen. Tommy Woods said the county is lucky to have “run upon people”
like William Adair, who is “willing to invest his own money into the
project.” Adair, who provided the land for the
intermodal yard, will build the access road to the yard in Rossville
from Highway 72 with his own money. Richard
Allen, district engineer for the Batesville office of the Mississippi
Department of Transportation, provided an update on the intermodal yard
project. Norfolk Southern is working on an
environmental study and archeologists are already working in the
proposed area, he said. After environmental studies are completed, the
engineering for the overpass will begin with planning and the moving of
utilities. He said offers for buyouts of land for
right-of-way for I-269 on the segment from Highway 78 to Goodman Road
could begin this month. The portion from Goodman Road to the Tennessee
line could be let to contract this fall if all right-of-way is
purchased and one utility line is moved. The
expected schedule for three other segments of I-269 are fall of 2011
for the I-55 to Highway 305 segment; spring of 2012 for the Highway 305
to Highway 78 segment; and 2013 for the Highway 78 to Goodman Road
segment. Lunch for the meeting was prepared and
provided by Sheriff Kenny Dickerson and his staff. The meal included
fried catfish, hushpuppies and cole slaw, banana pudding, cake and
peach ice cream. |
