CLARKSDALE, Miss. – The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) is awarding a $203,000 grant to improve the Baldwin sewer force main project.
The Baldwin Sewer Force Main project in Baldwin will use the money to replace 2,650 linear feet of a six-inch force main with an eight-inch force main and install larger impellers on lift station pumps.
A second southern Illinois project: on Hickory Street in DuQuoin, will receive a $2.5 million grant to relocated 2,300 feet of six-inch water main, 2,200 feet of eight-inch sanitary sewer and 1,200 feet of 14-inch of water main beneath a state highway.
The list of projects receiving grants also includes one in Reynolds County, Missouri.
The Public Water Supply District 1 System Restoration project in Centerville has been awarded more than $876,000 to address deteriorating waterlines and lack of critical system components in Reynolds County Public Water Supply District 1.
In all the Delta Regional Authority is making more than $31 million in investments to 34 projects across Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri through the Community Infrastructure Fund (CIF).
Funding for this program was made available, in part, by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden, a key part of his Investing in America agenda to grow local economies from the middle out and bottom up and create more resilient and healthier communities across the country.
The 34 new investment projects will improve basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, and flood control in communities across DRA’s region. These projects are projected to create or retain 1,400 jobs and affect nearly 12,300 families.
“The Community Infrastructure Fund is one of DRA’s most unique tools that allows us to expand and invest in the resiliency of the region’s public infrastructure,” said DRA Federal Co-Chairman Dr. Corey Wiggins. “As a result of this investment, over 12,000 families will have improved access to infrastructure, helping to improve their quality of life and increase economic opportunities in their communities.”
The purpose of the CIF program is to address unmet basic public infrastructure, transportation infrastructure, and flood control needs to help build safer, more resilient communities in the Delta region.
About the Delta Regional Authority
The DRA was established in 2000 as a formal framework for joint federal-state collaboration to promote and encourage the economic development of the lower Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. To fulfill this purpose, DRA invests in projects supporting transportation infrastructure, basic public infrastructure, workforce training, and business development. DRA’s region encompasses 252 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.