THE PLAN TO REDESIGN THE Fortification Street corridor continues to be reviewed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT), and has seen some delays in recent months; however the plan could soon be ready for a public hearing.

“The document is close to being ready for the public hearing,” said Chad Wallace, location engineer with MDOT.

MDOT officials are working on finalizing the necessary documents so that a public hearing can be scheduled, Wallace said.

There’s been a holdup of approval by MDOT, which is involved with the project because of federal money that will be used, due to what is known as the section 106 review process, Wallace said. The section 106 review is a part of the National Historic Preservation Act that involves cultural resources and their preservation or the minimization and mitigation of damaging effects on historic structures during federal projects.

“Fortification Street may have some structures and other issues that are historically significant,” Wallace said.

Once a public meeting is scheduled it will be advertised for weeks in advance, giving the public fair warning of when and where they will be held. During the meeting, the public will have the opportunity to give their input on the alternatives that are available in the project’s documents.

“Once all comments have been addressed, including the public’s preferred alternative, they will be incorporated into the final environmental assessment,” said David Willis, city of Jackson deputy director of public works, in a previous interview.

That final assessment will again be submitted to MDOT along with a request for a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).

ONCE A FONSI IS GIVEN, the city can move forward with the formal design of the project, according to Willis.

That final design should take about a year. Since the city will be able to work within the existing right of way, the design process should not take very long, according to Willis.

The last public meeting concerning Fortification Street was held in late 2004 to introduce the scope of the project to the community and provide an opportunity for written input from citizens. More than 200 people attended. The conceptual design and the environmental assessment phase of the Fortification Street Improvement Project began in 2004.

The purpose of the project is to improve traffic flow and the aesthetics of an approximately 1.25 mile stretch of the Fortification Street corridor. Preliminary plans include making the section of Fortification Street between Mill Street and Greymont Avenue more pedestrian friendly by upgrading the sidewalks along the road which sees tens of thousands of cars pass through each day.

Other aspects of the improvements include replacing water and sewer lines, adding new curbs, gutters and asphalt, and reconstructing a section of the road from State Street to Greymont Avenue, including subsurface draining. The plan also calls for the resurfacing of the road from State Street to Mill Street, professional landscaping and the reduction of above-ground utilities.

Sidewalks will be brought up to standard with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and a new median could be constructed if it is deemed necessary. Traffic cameras will also be installed and traffic signals will be upgraded.