Progress Made on Bypass and Federal Courthouse
Two major projects in Greenville will add much to the Delta’s largest city and the region. In December 2015, Congress funded nearly $1 billion to design and construct 12 federal courthouses across the nation, including one in Greenville. And that project, after all these years, is getting close to completion, at seventy percent currently. Enclosure is being put on now, with windows being installed, electrical systems put in, modern safety features placed, etc. The courthouse could be nearly finished at the end of the year.
Many were instrumental in getting the $47 million, 57,000 square-foot, three story project off the ground, including the late Sen. Thad Cochran, Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, Rep. Bennie Thompson and the federal judiciary.
Tenants in the new structure will include the U.S. District Court, U.S. Clerk of the Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, U.S. Magistrate Court, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Probation, Federal Public Defender and U.S. Attorneys.
Roy Decker, FAIA, and principal of Duvall Decker Architects, P.A., based in Jackson, set up a temporary office in downtown Greenville since starting work on the project as the design firm in 2017 and has been collaborating with a federal project manager.
“I was the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Project Manager on the work,” says Chief Regional Architect for the courthouse project, David Ryeff, based in Fort Worth, Texas. “In this role, I was responsible for the overall coordination of activities necessary to design and construct the new courthouse. I collaborated closely with the U.S. Courts, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Architect to ensure that federal operational requirements were accounted for in the building and that the design reflected the dignity, enterprise, and vigor of the United States. I was assigned as the GSA Project Manager for the new courthouse in April 2016 and continued in that role until I was promoted to GSA Regional Chief Architect just as construction was starting in September 2022.”
Ryeff says it was a professional joy to work with Roy Decker throughout the whole process.
“I have often thought of Roy as the project’s moral compass,” says Ryeff. “As the architect for the new courthouse, Roy had the unenviable challenge of developing a design that reconciled the operational needs of the U.S. Courts, the security requirements of the U.S. Marshals Service, and the GSA building performance standards. This is no simple task but, through it all, Roy never lost sight of the larger responsibility to the citizens of Greenville to design a courthouse that the community would be proud of and would represent the federal judiciary’s commitment to justice for all.”
The legacy of investment in Greenville’s historic downtown that the new courthouse represents is what Ryeff said he is most proud of with his involvement in the project. “I have a great deal of affection for the community of Greenville and hope that the new courthouse will be an economic catalyst that spurs continued redevelopment opportunities in the city,” he says.
“I wanted to be very respectful of Roy Decker’s design process and support his efforts as the architect, so I can honestly say that the only vision I had at the beginning of the project was to be mindful of a request I had received from a prominent member of the community who pulled me aside—after an early planning meeting—and asked if I would be so kind as to not build a federal courthouse that looks like a spaceship landed in downtown Greenville,” laughs Ryeff. “About a year later, the courthouse design was publicly unveiled for the first time and this individual reacted with a surprised shout of happiness and applause that was very gratifying to see.”
The courthouse, a National General Services Administration Design Excellence project, initially had requests sent out for proposals for work across the country. Duvall Decker submitted to be the design firm in 2017 and was accepted through an intensive selection process.
Decker has worked with Daniel Boggs, CEO at Greater Greenville, on many other worthwhile projects in Greenville, including affordable housing, but is particularly proud of the courthouse.
“There has already been a tremendous economic impact in Greenville during the courthouse’s construction,” says Decker. “And, certainly, when it is completed it will be a jewel for Greenville and the entire Delta.”
Boggs says that work on the courthouse has seen workers going at it for sixteen hours a day. “It’s been a huge undertaking but the rewards will be worth it,” says Boggs. “Robins & Morton out of Birmingham, Alabama is the contractor on the project and it’s been massive. But we are very excited about the progress being made and can’t wait until completion. This will help greatly as we assist in bringing back downtown Greenville and the pride that goes along with that.”
Meanwhile, the Greenville Bypass Project is still on track according to Willie Simmons, Commissioner for the Mississippi Transportation Commission for the Central District.
Announced in 2020 by Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith and Roger Wicker, the $71.46 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America grant for the Mississippi Department of Transportation was given to construct the Greenville Bypass Freight Corridor, which will steer Highway 82 for the Greenville Bridge to Leland.
“I’m very pleased with the progress on the bypass,” says Simmons. “All told, the project now will be at about a total of $216 million when we finish it. We’re moving forward with the first phase from Highway 82 at Leland over to Highway 1 and we have now let the contract for the second phase which will go from Highway 1 back to 82 at the river bridge. The first phase is costing about $137 million and the second phase about $79 million.”
The contractor for the project, Eutaw Construction, is also moving and working ahead of schedule, says Simmons. “We anticipate both phases being completed by December, 2025,” he says.
“These interchanges will bring people into Greenville and the surrounding areas and the business community will benefit from this project,” says Simmons. “We’ll have excellent signage and more traffic will be going through Greenville. Plus, from a safety point of view, this project will divert those truck and vehicles carrying hazardous chemicals away from residential areas—they’ll be off of 82 now. It’s a win-win situation.”