Downtown Jackson's State Street is undergoing a $29M upgrade as part of the Capitol Complex Improvement District. The project includes improvements to infrastructure, sidewalks, utilities, and more, with plans for additional capital projects in the future totaling $52M.
The Middle East's Strait of Hormuz is a narrow stretch of water where nearly a fifth of the world's oil passes through on large ships.
Every day, supertankers thread its 21-mi.-wide bottleneck between Iran on the north and the United Arab Emirates and Oman to the south.
If the Gulf were ever to close, global markets would tremble as it is one of the most important shipping routes on Earth.
Approximately 8,000 mi. to the west, Jackson, Miss.'s State Street is — in its own, much smaller way — just as important to the Deep South state's capital city as the roadway is a major thoroughfare.
A main artery into downtown Jackson, State Street provides access to major institutions like City Hall, the Mississippi State Capitol and the Hinds County Courthouse from nearly every direction of the city.
While there are no oil tankers or naval fleets traveling along the route, the many cars and trucks that use the roadway often get backed up on weekday mornings and afternoons.
The Clarion Ledger, Mississippi's oldest newspaper, reported May 25, 2025, that for over a year, residents and commuters have faced regular traffic delays along State Street, where the stretch between Fortification and Capitol streets — one of Jackson's busiest corridors — has been undergoing a series of reconstructions since January 2024.
State Street Makeover One Part of Larger Effort
The current $29 million State Street project is part of Jackson's Capitol Complex Improvement District (CCID) — a controversial section of downtown established by the Mississippi Legislature in 2017 to fund infrastructure upgrades.
"It is our largest and most-expensive project to date," Rebekah Staples, chair of the CCID Project Advisory Committee, told the Clarion Ledger, based in Jackson. "It's approximately 4,800 linear feet, so almost a mile, and it's from Capitol Street to Fortification [Street]."
She added that the State Street improvements have been a top priority for the CCID Project Advisory Committee for several years.
The eight-member board, made up of local and state appointees, advises lawmakers and the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration (DFA) on which infrastructure projects should receive funding.
Other committee members include Howard Brown, vice president of business and finance and chief financial officer of Jackson State University (JSU); Jackson City Council President Virgi Lindsay; and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba.
The advisory committee included the State Street project in its 2019 CCID Master Plan, where it ranked as the sixth-highest priority at the time; the top project on the list was a proposed upgrade to High Street between Lamar and West streets, just outside the Mississippi State Capitol.
Staples said the committee used several criteria to rank the city's projects, including proximity to state facilities, economic and community impacts, public health and safety and overall condition and level of service.
The CCID Project Advisory Committee also spoke with relevant stakeholders to determine which projects were of the highest priority, including the City of Jackson, the state, JSU, the University of Mississippi Medical Center, Hinds County Board of Supervisors and Downtown Jackson Partners, among others.
Work on State Street Being Rolled Out in Stages
The State Street project is being constructed in phases, moving section by section between major intersections.
For example, Phase 1 stretches from Pearl to Mississippi streets and is nearly complete, Staples told the Jackson news source. All major construction on that portion is finished, she said, with only the final layer of paving and striping remaining.
Due to the weather — particularly Jackson's often-punishing humidity — and a desire to avoid rework, the final paving and striping are being held off until all underground and excavation work is fully complete for each phase, according to Staples.
The second phase of construction, from Mississippi to George streets, is currently under way and expected to wrap up this fall, while the final portion of the project will rehabilitate George and Fortification streets.
She estimates the entire project will be finished by the summer of 2026.
Jackson's Waggoner Engineering is overseeing the design, while Hemphill Construction in Florence, Miss. is the prime contractor.
Staples made clear that the builders are not performing a simple street repaving; rather, the construction work also includes evaluating the asphalt, performing curb-and-gutter repairs, making sure the corridor's sidewalks meet Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, rehabilitation and replacement of water, stormwater and sewer line utilities; and conduit and landscape installation.
"Because this is a major thoroughfare and it's in such poor condition, the work we're doing is very head-to-toe," she said. "We don't just repave streets; that is not what we do. It's not a band-aid. It's more thorough."
What Projects Are Next in CCID?
While the State Street project was originally included in the 2019 CCID Master Plan, an updated master plan was created in 2023 that includes more capital projects planned through 2028, the Clarion Ledger reported.
Below is a description of those projects and total projected costs, according to the latest CCID plan. In total, these projects will cost $52 million over the next four years.
They include:
• President Street, from Pearl to Amite streets, projected to cost $5.27 million;
• West Street, from Capitol to High streets, $13.2 million;
• Mississippi Street, from Jefferson to North streets, $2.8 million;
• South Street (Segment 1), from Jefferson to State streets, $5.6 million;
• South Street (Segment 2), from State Street to Town Creek Bridge, $10.1 million;
• South Street (Segment 3), from Town Creek Bridge to Farish Street, $4.6 million;
• South Street (Segment 4), from Farish to Gallatin streets, $9.1 million; and
• Various downtown Jackson sidewalk repairs (their locations will be defined during planning), $1.2 million.
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