Mississippi Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall visited WessonWednesday afternoon to present Mayor Alton Shaw with a check for$273,797.52 to improve current downtown sidewalks and construct anew walking path between downtown and Copiah-Lincoln CommunityCollege.

The money was provided through congressional legislation in theSafe, Affordable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: ALegacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The Mississippi TransportationCommission approved funding for projects around the state toencourage people to use walking or biking trails and for renovatingexisting infrastructure and transportation structures. Over $31million has been awarded so far, and the Transportation Commissionexpects to use $10.5 million in Hall’s Central District.

“These are the kind of projects that I like to choose, the kindthat help the community,” said Hall about the Wesson work. “AndI’ve tried my best to put the money in the relatively smallercommunities because they seem to gather around the project and itmakes more of an impact.”

Shaw said the grant will be used to replace the sidewalksdowntown, which are sorely in need of improvement.

“We’re looking forward to the rehabilitation of the sidewalksalong Highway 51 here in town,” said Shaw. “They’re prettydilapidated. We’ll clean and redo them in a manner that will notonly be more useful, but also more visually attractive.”

There is a secondary goal for the money as well.

“It will also finish out the walking path between downtown andthe Co-Lin campus,” he said. “It will be a lot morepedestrian-friendly and encourage the students to utilize thedowntown area.”

Under the terms set by the Transportation Commission, the moneycan’t be used for an ordinary sidewalk.

“We’re going to make them 5-6 feet in width,” said Shaw. “Thatway they can be used for more than just walking. They can be usedfor bikes, wheelchairs, whatever.”

One concern for town officials is that the daytime traffic intown is about 4,500 people, which puts a lot of strain on thecurrent streets. Shaw said the new sidewalks, especially the onebetween Co-Lin and the downtown area, could help with thatproblem.

“As things move forward, I think we will be a lot more attunedto walking rather than driving,” Shaw said. “This will provide ourcitizens and the students with another avenue not only fortransportation, but for general exercise.”