Officials from the City of Petal, the City of Hattiesburg, and Forrest County are working together on the next step in the transformation of the former East Hardy Street bridge that connects Petal and Hattiesburg over the Leaf River, with recent agendas from those three entities featuring items to implement a pedestrian/bicycle path across that structure.
With the help of matching grants from the United States Department of Transportation, the aforementioned entities are expected to put forward matching grants to make the path possible. The funds would come from the department of transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grant program for 2024, which is designed to help communities around the country carry out projects with significant local or regional impact.
“I feel like this is going to be so beneficial for Forrest County for several reasons,” said Terri Bell, president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors. “One, most of the people that live in that area – 45 percent of those households live below the poverty line, and then you also have 35 percent of the households there depend on (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits.
“And believe it or not, 9 percent of those households do not have a vehicle, so I think it’s important that we have access to safe walkways for job opportunities, being able to get to public transportation. It’s going to help with economic development and growth in that area, so I think more than just having a nice space, I think it has a bigger, broader overview of benefits for that area.”
At the February 20 meeting of the Petal Board of Aldermen, board members voted to adopt a resolution authorizing Mayor Tony Ducker to apply for funding for the project, and to name the mayor as an authorized representative through the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Recreation Trails Program for development of pedestrian and bike access over the bridge. Aldermen also authorized up to $15,000 in matching funds for the path.
“The goal is to obviously reach out for the grant money, matching funds, to get more work done down there,” Ducker said. “I think with a couple of projects that you have going on with both sides of the bridge, it’s very important that we have a good foothold down there.
“I’m excited about it … and there’s a lot of exciting stuff going on. From an economic standpoint, you’re talking about some of the least expensive land in Forrest County, so it is ripe for development, so you would like to see some entrepreneurs down there taking advantage of that.”
City council president Jeffrey George said he also is excited to establish the walkway on the old bridge.
“I’m extremely excited about taking this step forward for the city to partner with Forrest County and the City of Petal to make the old East Hardy bridge an asset to our entire community,” he said. “I think the potential addition of this pedestrian path will help us continue to expand outdoor recreation opportunities and will further our mission to realize the Leaf River as an asset to our city.”
Bell said officials expect to hear back on results of the grant applications sooner rather than later.
“We just came back from (Washington) D.C., asking our senators and congressmen to help us with that,” she said. “(We need) their letters of support, which we’ve got.
“I feel confident that something is going to (happen). We have worked too hard to not have something happen, so I think it’s exciting.”
Officials are currently working to complete a new bridge adjacent to the current bridge, which will replace the structure that has connected Hattiesburg and Petal for more than 70 years. The current bridge was closed to traffic on January 22 and will remain shut down for the next month or two to allow for drainage and construction matters.
“It’s pretty cool-looking what they’ve got now,” Bell said. “I’m sure it will evolve and change, but I think everybody’s going to be tickled with it once it’s finished.”
Officials had originally considered demolishing the current bridge, but after learning that endeavor would cost approximately $1 million, the decision was made to leave the structure and transform it into a pedestrian bridge. The funds for that project will come from the Leaf and Bouie Redevelopment District, which was recently established to take the taxes from each side of the Leaf and Bouie rivers and reinvest them back into those areas of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County.
“We have that district set up down there, and that’s bringing in some revenue for the second or third year,” said David Hogan, former president of the Forrest County Board of Supervisors, in a previous story. “So we’ll have some money built up to do some stuff to the old bridge once it’s not in use anymore.
“It’s going to be a destination point. There will be a walking path and some lighting, and we’ll probably paint it during events.”
