The city of Mayfield is getting $31.5 million dollars in federal and state grants to help rebuild roads in its downtown area that was hit hard during the 2021 tornado outbreak.
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Wednesday that it is awarding $25 million to Mayfield through its Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. That money – along with $6.3 million in state transportation funding and $200,000 from other federal grants – will be used to reconstruct around 2.5 miles of high-traffic thoroughfares in the Graves County seat.
Mayfield’s downtown suffered a direct hit from an EF-4 tornado in December 2021. Overall, the disaster left more than 400 buildings destroyed and over 1,100 buildings damaged in the Graves County community. Twenty-four Graves County residents lost their lives in the natural disaster.
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Mayfield Mayor Kathy O’Nan said this grant funding will help the community continue its long-term recovery efforts.
“This is another piece of that puzzle in the restoration, rebuilding, re-creation of this area of town that was just completely destroyed by that tornado,” she said.
The street improvements will include ADA-accessible sidewalks, dedicated bike lanes and new trees. Mayfield will also fund the installation of a new stormwater sewer system with the grants.
Following the tornado outbreak, O’Nan said one of the things residents said they wanted to see in the Graves County community as it rebuilt was to make the city more walkable. The mayor said making the city more accessible to pedestrians and cyclists could also help attract new businesses to the city.
This story is republished with permission from WKMS. Read the original.
Hannah Saad is the assistant news director for WKMS. Originally from Michigan, Hannah earned her bachelor’s degree in news media from The University of Alabama. Prior to joining WKMS in March 2023, Hannah was a news reporter at The Paducah Sun.
