Groundbreaking ceremony held for Reunion Parkway Phase 2
Ground was broken Wednesday on a $26 million project to connect Parkway East with Bozeman Road.
The Reunion Parkway extension over I-55 will open land for development and create an efficient east-west transportation corridor in Madison County, officials said.
The 1.9-mile road being built with a combination of state and local funding will be two lanes in both directions and include a multi-use trial, according to Darion Warren, the project manager for Waggoner Engineering, the engineers on the project.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held Wednesday at 9 a.m. adjacent to Southern Performance Institute between Madison and Gluckstadt.
Gov. Tate Reeves spoke and said the parkway has been talked about for “years and years” and will likely take “the next several years” to complete.
Reeves said he frequently tells his daughters that “the harder you work, the sweeter the taste of victory.”
“Victory tastes mighty sweet today,” Reeves said referencing the groundbreaking of a project that has been at least ten years in the making.
Reeves said this is an “indication” of the growth that is going on throughout the state.
“This does not just benefit one city or one county but the whole state,” Reeves said to reporters after the groundbreaking.
The list of local and state dignitaries on hand included Gov. Reeves, U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, U.S. Rep. Michael Guest, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons, and President of Madison County Board of Supervisors President Gerald Steen all of whom made remarks during a press conference held before the groundbreaking ceremony.
Steen said the parkway was “much needed” and will be an important part of the county’s continued growth.
Warren said the project is in the bid phase for construction. Bids close at 10 a.m. on Aug. 30. Warren said the project is currently projected to take two years after construction begins.
The project will also include access ramps which will be built by the MDOT to connect the project to Interstate 55.