WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today issued the following statement regarding a decision by the Mississippi Transportation Commission to authorize the Mississippi Department of Transportation to update signage of U.S. Highway 78 to Interstate 22 pending final federal approval of the state’s application:

“Communities throughout north Mississippi benefit from the economic development created by this project. Years of investment and hard work are already paying enormous dividends. I am proud to have played a role in this worthwhile venture, and I applaud state and local officials for their persistence in bringing us to this point.”

In 2004, then-Rep. Wicker secured congressional approval of a provision designating U.S. Highway 78 as a future interstate corridor. It will connect to Interstate 269 in Mississippi once construction is complete. The connector in Alabama will be Interstate 65 north of downtown Birmingham.