As a new administration in Jackson works to repair streets across the capital city, a partnership between city and county officials has been agreed on in hopes of expediting the process.
Mayor John Horhn announced Tuesday that he and Hinds County Board of Supervisors President Robert Graham have signed a memorandum of understanding, marking a collaboration between the City of Jackson and Hinds County to address street resurfacing and pothole repairs through a new joint initiative. The partnership comes after both the Jackson City Council and Hinds County Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the MOU.
Under the partnership, Hinds County will provide personnel and equipment while the city will fund the repairs inside its limits. As previously reported by The Clarion-Ledger, the city of Jackson annually has a multi-million-dollar budget for street repairs but has had issues hiring crews to carry out the work. Hinds County, on the other hand, has the crews but not as much money dedicated to street repairs in Jackson, where it has repaired thousands “if not hundreds of thousands” of potholes in recent years, according to Graham.
Work will begin immediately with joint crews set to focus on the city’s highest-need corridors and preparing a schedule for repairs in each of the city’s seven wards, a press release noted.
“Jackson residents deserve safe, well-maintained streets, and this partnership delivers action, not just promises,” Horhn stated. “By combining the county’s workforce and the city’s resources, we’re taking a common-sense approach to finally address one of Jackson’s most urgent challenges. This is what collaboration looks like, a true investment in our neighborhoods and in the future of our capital city.”
The initiative comes after Horhn promised during his mayoral bid to “restore basic services and improve quality of life” in Jackson, which includes infrastructure improvements. Jackson has long suffered from decaying roadways with Horhn using that to help launch him into city hall, defeating former Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba in the Democratic primary before flying through June’s general election and taking office on July 1.
