Columbus and Starkville officials trekked to Washington, D.C., Monday on a quest to bring more funding to the Golden Triangle.
For the Columbus delegation, the emphasis was on getting another $7 million to fund design and land acquisition, among other things, for the Highway 45 bypass project, said Mayor Robert Smith. The city has already spent $2 million in federal funds on the project.
Also discussed was a $1 million project to build a diversion ditch on 14th Avenue North between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Railroad Street and the process for CL&W to win more energy efficiency grants, Smith said.
Smith — along with Columbus Light and Water Board President Jabari Edwards, CL&W General Manager Todd Gale and City Engineer Kevin Stafford — flew back from D.C. on Wednesday after meeting with Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Thad Cochran and Rep. Alan Nunnelee.
“They were very receptive,” Smith said. “They support us, but funding is going to be a big issue (in Congress) this year.”
The funds for the projects will likely be available next year, if not this year, he added.
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