Natchez will receive $3 million for road improvements under the federal highway bill passed by the House and Senate Friday.

The money is earmarked for improving major intersections in Adams County, widening and constructing turn lanes where U.S. 61 intersects D’Evereux Drive, Liberty Road and John R. Junkin Drive.

The bill also includes $10 million for Claiborne County’s Port Connector Road, which connects Highway 18 and Highway 61 with Grand Gulf Nuclear Power Station, Grand Gulf Military Park and the Mississippi River Port.

&uot;I am pleased the Senate has passed this much-needed highway bill,&uot; U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, R-Miss., said in a statement.

&uot;I have worked closely with the entire Mississippi Congressional delegation to ensure that our transportation needs received fair consideration.&uot;

In addition, Mississippi will receive funding to help develop new interstates. Interstate 69 will receive over $100 million for construction in Mississippi, and the U.S. 78 interchange in New Albany will receive $5 million to reconstruct the interchange to interstate standards. This project must be completed before U.S. 78 can be designated Interstate 22, Cochran said.

&uot;Improving transportation infrastructure is critical to economic development in Mississippi. Tourism, commuting and commercial shipping all require efficient roadways,&uot; said U.S. Rep. Chip Pickering, who served as a House negotiator on the Transportation Conference Committee which produced the final version of this legislation.

Meanwhile, a long-sought interstate highway project for the Black Belt counties west of Montgomery, Ala., will receive $100 million under the bill.

The extension of Interstate 85 from the state capital to the Mississippi border for more than a decade has been a top project of Alabama officials and members of Congress. Although the total cost of the project could approach $1.5 billion, the sizable first step gave state highway officials hope it was more than a distant reality.

The House and Senate overwhelmingly passed the $286.4 billion transportation bill Friday. Besides highway extensions, it is full of local projects for rail and bus facilities, bike paths and recreational trails.

Although lawmakers in Alabama and Mississippi have long supported the concept of a Black Belt highway, the specific route has long been a subject of debate. Davis has sought to upgrade Highway 80, which links Montgomery and Meridian into an interstate. Other plans would link Montgomery with Natchez.