by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) were jointly awarded on Friday (July 12) a $393.75 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation to use toward the replacement of the Interstate 55 bridge over the Mississippi River between West Memphis, Ark., and Memphis, Tenn.

ARDOT and TDOT were co-applicants for the grant to replace the aging, 75-year-old bridge. Federal officials announced the historic grant, allowing the project to move forward. A press conference is scheduled for Thursday, July 18 in Memphis to provide more details.

The grant is funded through the Bridge Investment Program under President Biden’s bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which received no votes from Arkansas’ all GOP Congressional delegation.

$893 million committed to I-55 bridge replacement on Arkansas-Tennessee border