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NATCHEZ — The city’s RAISE grant has been restored.

That was the message from Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson to the city’s Board of Aldermen on Tuesday.

In June 2024, Gibson was informed by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., that the city had been awarded a $24.57 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The money was intended for infrastructure improvements from the flyover at D’Evereux Drive all the way to the Bluff for what is known as the Forks to Freedom Corridor project.

However, because of cuts in federal spending by the Trump Administration, the grant was in jeopardy.

At Tuesday’s meeting of the Mayor and Board of Aldermen, Gibson said he heard last week the grant funds have been restored.

“I learned last week that we are one of 10 percent to have our RAISE grant restored. And we are no longer calling it a RAISE grant. This is a BUILD grant under the new administration,” Gibson said.

Gibson said Natchez is among approximately 300 cities to get the go-ahead out of 3,000.

He said he learned the news from the Federal Highway Administration during a meeting last week.

“We may not be doing as much related to green energy in this new program, but by and large, we are getting the project exactly as we designed it and as it was approved with some minor changes,” he said.

Gibson said he had the opportunity to thank Wicker in person while in Oxford recently.

“The fact that we have the green light and are only five months behind … the whole team is still in place and we can now move forward. Sen. Wicker and Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith did not stop until we got this grant,” he said.