Board authorizes USDOT grant application and approves Entergy relocation agreement for Highway 18 grade separation

Summary

Supervisors authorized an engineer to apply for a U.S. Department of Transportation grant (approx. $19 million requested) for Florence‑Byram Parkway and approved a $687,745 Entergy relocation agreement tied to the Highway 18 grade separation; staff said relocation work is inside the city limits and will be paid from federal appropriations on hand.

The board authorized its project engineer to prepare and submit a U.S. Department of Transportation grant application for the Florence‑Byram Parkway project and approved a relocation agreement and payment authorization for Entergy in support of the Highway 18 grade separation.

Staff said the USDOT application (federal discretionary program) would seek approximately $19 million and that there is no county cost to prepare and file the application. The board voted to authorize the engineer to proceed.

Separately, staff presented a relocation agreement with Entergy to raise electric infrastructure for the grade separation; the agreement included an embedded estimate of $687,745. Staff and board members noted the utility work sits inside city limits but said federal appropriations in the county’s possession would cover the costs. The board approved both the authorization to apply for the federal grant and the Entergy relocation payment authority.

Staff will proceed with the application preparation and process invoices from Entergy per the approved agreement.