Jackson Free Press

The Hinds County Board of Supervisors will ask the Legislature to issue bonds to aid development in the Clinton-Byram corridor; they just don't know how much funding they will request quite yet. The Hinds County Board of Supervisors this morning voted down Calhoun's request to ask the Mississippi Legislature to issue $50 million in bonds for the proposed project.

In September, Hinds County received $1.2 million from the Federal Highway Administration to develop the Byram-Clinton Corridor. The 18-mile corridor is a proposed multi-lane route between Byram at Interstate 55 South extending northwest to the Norrell Road Interchange at Interstate 20 in Clinton. The corridor will consist of retail, residential and commercial development. The funds will help connect Interstate 20 to Sam Herring Road and provide access to the John Bell Williams Airport and Industrial Park. The supervisors voted last year to earmark $2 million for the project out of $14 million remaining from a 2007 bond issue.

Calhoun said the project is needed to relieve traffic congestion, promote economic development and create jobs. She said that an engineering study estimated the cost of the project at $96 million, about $50 million of which the county would need to kick in.

District 1 Supervisor Robert Graham said he hasn't seen enough information about the proposal's financing.

"I haven't gotten one single piece of paper from anyone saying how much we need and how we're going to spend it," Graham said.

Calhoun pointed out that the board had voted to accept the engineering study's recommendation. She added that if the public perceives the board to be "stalling" with the development project, it could lose support from citizens as well as the state Legislature.

"If we're going to ask the Legislature to assist us, we need to move forward now," Calhoun said. "Not approving the project would send a message that the board is not serious about economic development and creating jobs," she added.

"To say that there's a stalling tactic is a little disingenuous," Graham countered. "I think we're just trying to make the best decision we possibly can. If we're going to spend $50 million, I want to make sure we know what we're doing."

After Calhoun's motion was denied, she amended her request to seek funding and leaving the amount requested blank; the board approved the second measure.