$35.5 million grant awarded to modernize 121-year-old Escatawpa River swing bridge

$35.5 million grant awarded to.

Key points

• Auditor launches Non-Profit Spending website showing Mississippi has paid non-profits over $4.2 billion since 2020.
• The funds will backing the Advancing Mississippi Export's Resiliency, Infrastructure & Capacity Throughout the Network (AMERICAN) project.
• The Supreme Court remarked Monday it'll consider if Congress had the constitutional authority to ban distilling spirits in homes in 1868.
• The CRISI funding for the Mississippi improvements is among 105 selected projects with a total of $2.3 billion awarded throughout the U.S.
• $35.5 million grant awarded to modernize 121-year-old Escatawpa River swing bridge.

$35.5 million grant awarded to modernize 121-year-old Escatawpa River swing bridge. By: Frank Corder – October 20, 2026. (Photo from Mississippi Export Railroad website).

"This investment will help modernize aging infrastructure, improve safety, and strengthen the reliability of freight transportation in South Mississippi, " remarked Congressman Mike Ezell, a member of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Mississippi Export Railroad has been awarded a $35.5 million grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration's Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program.

Notably, the funds will backing the Advancing Mississippi Export's Resiliency, Infrastructure & Capacity Throughout the Network (AMERICAN) project. It will modernize and automate the 121-year-old Escatawpa River Swing Bridge in Jackson County and construct new siding, upgrade approximately ten miles of mainline track, improve ten at-grade crossings, and raise the track in flood-prone areas.

For context, the CRISI funding for the Mississippi improvements is among 105 selected projects with a total of $2.3 billion awarded throughout the U.S.

U.S. DOT remarked the Moss Point / Helena project aligns with the selection criteria by enhancing safety, improving system and service performance, and improving reliability as the project will allow higher operating speeds, reduce derailment risk, and provide resiliency to floods. Mississippi Export Railroad Firm will contribute a 25% non-federal cost share.

According to It was, the project qualifies for the statutory set-aside for projects in Rural Areas.

Fourth District Congressman Mike Ezell (R) welcomed the news, saying in an official note Monday that Mississippi's railroads play a critical role in connecting ports, industries, and businesses to markets nationwide.

Kate Bourgeois, President and CEO of Mississippi Export Railroad, remarked the CRISI grant funds generational infrastructure upgrades, strengthening her company's ability to connect Gulf Coast industries to global markets.

"Our Class I partners, CN, CSX, NS and CPKC, along with the Port of Pascagoula, are critical conduits to that connectivity, and this investment will support economic development across the region, " Bourgeois remarked. "We thank the Federal Railroad Administration and Administrator Fink, as well as Senator Wicker, Senator Hyde-Smith, and Congressman Ezell, whose vital support helped make this vision a reality." Regarding the Author(s).

Frank Corder is a native of Pascagoula. For almost two decades, he has noted and offered analysis on administration, public policy, business and matters of faith. Frank's interviews, articles, and columns have been shared throughout Mississippi as well as in national publications. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, providing insight and commentary on the inner workings of the Magnolia State. Frank has served his community in both elected and appointed public office, hosted his own local radio and television programs, and managed private businesses all while being an engaged husband and father. Email Frank: [email protected].

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Taken together, the developments around $35.5 million grant awarded to modernize 121-year-old Escatawpa River swing bridge point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.