City Grill

Tamika Jenkins 
Executive director
Hinds County, Miss., Dept. of Economic Development

A wave of funding is flowing into Mississippi’s capital for construction projects, more than doubling in recent years, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Most of Jackson’s funds are coming from the federal government for major infrastructure projects.

Overall, the city expects to receive more than $600 million in infrastructure funding via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. “We are getting hundreds of millions from the [federal] government to help with our water issue,” Jenkins says. Last summer, Jackson’s water woes hit a crisis point when its system went days without operating. State and federal authorities continue working on repair plans to possibly replace the aging system.

Another major project is the pavement rehabilitation of the east/west I-20 and north/south I-55 interchange, which experiences an average of 110,000 vehicles traveling daily. The multiyear project includes straightening and repaving. The state ranks 26th among states in interstate pavement conditions.