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Newest Section of I-69 Open
State, local and federal officials gathered Tuesday, October 3, to witness a ribbon-cutting ceremony and declare the nation’s first new segment of Interstate 69 open to the public. Interstate 69 is a 1600-mile planned route that will connect Canada and Mexico through several U. S. states with major markets. The total economic impact is expected to include 27,000 new jobs nationwide with $11 billion in additional wages. The completed segment links U. S. Highway 61 in Tunica County with Interstate 55 in DeSoto County. When completed, the Mississippi portion of I-69 will pass through Bolivar, Coahoma, DeSoto and Tunica Counties.
Speakers at the event included U. S. Senator Trent Lott, U. S. Representatives Roger Wicker and Bennie Thompson, Federal Highway Administrator Rick Capka, Mississippi Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Billy Hewes III, Mississippi House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman William Miles, Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) Commissioner Bill Minor, and MDOT Executive Director Larry L. “Butch” Brown.
In November, Mississippi, Tennessee and federal highway officials signed off on a key environmental document for Interstates 269 and 69 through the area. I-269 will connect central and eastern DeSoto County to the Tennessee state line just southwest of Collierville. The loop will go east from Hernando to U. S. Highway 78 and through Marshall County, then link to Tennessee State Highway 385.
Once the project has passed a sixty-day public comment period, MDOT officials may go ahead with designing the I-269 loop as soon as spring of 2007. The 28.6-mile loop will be divided into four sections, two in DeSoto County and two in Marshall County.