Jackson Free Press

The city of Jackson is again seeking funds to create a "Museum to Market" bike trail along an old railroad bed after the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries denied a grant to fund the project last fall.

Jackson Department of Public Works Director Dan Gaillet said his department submitted the grant application to the city in March, and the Jackson City Council will vote on ratifying the grant during its 10 a.m. meeting tomorrow at City Hall. The grant would provide $100,000 for the trail with the city contributing $25,000. Gaillet said that the state has more funding available this year for trail projects, and he is hopeful that the city will receive the funding.

The Greater Jackson Chamber Partnership, the Jackson Chamber of Commerce and the city of Jackson have banded together with local bike enthusiasts to create a trail that will run partially through Belhaven. The trail will start by the Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum on Lakeland Drive, run along Riverside Drive in front of the Mississippi Children's Museum and then veer behind the water treatment plant. From there, the trail will follow along a dirt path that formerly held a railroad track. It will end at the Farmers Market and Mississippi State Fairgrounds on High Street. The trail's second phase will extend from High Street to Highway 80, running behind the Old Capitol Museum and Hal & Mal's.

In May, local organizations and the chamber sponsored a trail cleanup to clear debris from the path and drum up support for the project. Clay Hays, chairman of the Greater Jackson Chamber, said about 50 people volunteered for the event.

Hays said that the city and chamber are looking into other funding opportunities in case the grant does not come through this year. Hays met with Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., Ridgeland Mayor Gene McGee and Flowood Mayor Gary Rhoades earlier this spring, and says they all support the Belhaven trail and future trails connecting the Jackson metro.

"This year, we feel like our proposal is better, and with the state having more money, and with more and more cities doing these projects, we feel like this is something that's important," Hays said.

The state department of wildlife and fisheries should decide on the grant by early fall.

Two-Waying Capitol Street Inches Along

The City Council will vote Tuesday to approve a small procedural process to transform Capitol Street into a two-way street.

During tomorrow's meeting, the council will vote to authorize a memorandum of understanding between the city and the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration to receive $2 million for the project from a state bonds bill.

"It's a formality between us and the department of finance," Gaillet said. "… We are working on finalizing plans on how we are going to build this project. We have met with (the Mississippi Department of Transportation) and presented what we want to do. We are still in the engineering process and going over construction details."

The Jackson City Council approved a memorandum of understanding last July to revert Capitol Street back into a two-way street. The total project costs—which includes removing parking-garage ramps—is $16.1 million, with the city contributing $800,000 and the federal and state government providing $9.7 million.

Last year, the state Legislature passed a state bonds bill to providing $2 million for the Capitol Street conversion and up to $6 million to upgrade city water lines.

Gaillet added that the city is continuing to seek additional funds for the project's construction.