DeSoto County moves on Four-Year Road Plan

Key Points

• Expansion Priorities: The plan highlights the widening of Interstate 55 to as many as 10 lanes in certain sections to alleviate chronic congestion.
• State Aid Focus: County officials shifted the focus toward securing state funding for widening state Highway 305 and U.S. Highway 51, labeling the current interstate funding as “wishful thinking.”
• Safety Infrastructure: The approved plan includes new roundabouts and intersection improvements, including a proposed roundabout at Green Tea Road to manage heavy truck traffic.

HERNANDO, Miss. — The DeSoto County Board of Supervisors moved to solidify its infrastructure vision Tuesday, approving an updated four-year road plan that balances ambitious interstate expansions with a pragmatic push for state-level arterial funding.

Presented by County Road Manager Robert Jarman, the document serves as the county’s official “wish list” for transportation improvements. While the plan outlines a massive transformation of Interstate 55, supervisors spent much of the session pivoting toward more immediate needs on state highways that serve as critical release valves for the county’s booming population.

“It’s good to have it on there and be updated on it,” it was noted regarding the interstate projects, though the consensus among the board was that federal funding for I-55 remains elusive. Instead, the board voted to elevate state Highway 305—specifically from Church Road to I-269—and U.S. Highway 51 to top-priority status to better position the county for state aid.

Interstate 55: The 10-Lane Vision

Much of the initial discussion focused on the scope of the I-55 widening project. While initial documents suggested an expansion from four to eight lanes, updated information shared during the meeting indicated that the current long-term plan envisions 10 lanes extending all the way to I-269, before condensing to six lanes toward Commerce Street in Hernando. 

Supervisors expressed concern regarding the “bottleneck” effect as lanes condense. There was a vocal push to ensure that infrastructure like overpasses at Bethel Road and I-269 are constructed with future capacity in mind to avoid the prohibitive costs of secondary expansions.

Local Arterials and “Wishful Thinking”

Despite the scale of the interstate plans, Jarman and the supervisors acknowledged a stark financial reality. “That’s just wishful thinking,” Jarman said regarding current funding for several widening phases.

To combat this, the board is focusing on projects where state and local cooperation can yield faster results. The inclusion of Highway 305 and Highway 51 in the formal plan is a strategic move to signal to the state legislature that these routes are the county’s true priorities.

Specific local concerns addressed in the meeting included:

• Traffic Management: Addressing the “narrow” two-lane bridges that currently struggle to accommodate 18-wheelers.
• Green Tea Road: Discussions regarding a planned roundabout at Green Tea Road to manage the influx of logistics traffic that frequently bypasses the main highways.
• Holly Springs Intersection: The board corrected a clerical error in the plan to properly identify a roundabout project at Holly Springs Road as a priority.

Next Steps for the County

The approved plan will now serve as the county’s primary lobbying tool in Jackson and Washington, D.C. By formalizing these priorities, supervisors hope to secure the “right-of-way” funding necessary to begin the next phases of construction on Highway 51 and Highway 305.

“We need to be pushing to get ready to go on 305,” one supervisor emphasized, noting that 100 percent of the traffic relief on local roads depends on having viable alternatives when the interstate inevitably reaches capacity or faces delays.