Sen. Bob Dearing said he is still optimistic about a bill to acquire funding for the four-laning of Highway 24, despite the fact the bill he sponsored died in committee last week.
Senate Bill 2833 would have authorized borrowing $190 million in general obligation bonds for use by the Mississippi Transportation Commission and the Mississippi Department of Transportation to four-lane part of Highway 24. Dearing had proposed the creation of a special fund called the “Mississippi Highway 24 Improvement Fund.”
The bill sought to add extra lanes to the highway from Interstate 55 in McComb to Liberty, approximately 20 miles of roadway.
The bill was referred to the finance committee Feb. 29. It died in committee March 16, according to www.legislature.ms.gov.
Although the bill is considered dead, Dearing said there’s a chance it will be considered as part of another bill that will go before the House.
“You know what they say up here. Nothing’s dead until it’s dead, dead, dead,” Dearing said.
Today is the last day to get revenue bills out of committee, Dearing said.
“It’s possible the project will be included on another bill. It’s technically still alive. If the House amends it, it’ll go to conference where it’ll be decided by three members of the House and the Senate,” Dearing said.
Dearing had proposed staggered spending to make the bill more passable. The project would cost approximately $10 million per mile for a total of about 19 miles.
Safety is Dearing’s primary motivation for bringing the bill before the Senate, he said.
Just two days after the bill died in committee, a traffic fatality occurred on the notoriously dangerous road.
On Friday, a head-on traffic collision on Highway 24 took the life of Leroy Alexander, 83, of Summit, and injured John Smith, 49, also of Summit.
“We still have a shot,” Dearing said. “If something doesn’t pass the first year or so, you’ve got to keep after it and keep after it until something happens. Hopefully we can still get something done.”
