Industrial Park Readied For Growth
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An aerial view of the W.C. Gardiner Industrial Park shows site preparation and the new access road connecting Highway 7 with the existing industrial park road. Paving is expected to complete the $1.8 million project.
WATER VALLEY – Months of work are wrapping up at the W.C. Gardiner Industrial Park, with paving now set to complete a $1.8 million road and site preparation project.
Yalobusha County Economic Development District Executive Director Kagan Coughlin said the project has taken longer than expected because its scope expanded after the $1.18 million construction bid came in below budget last year. The savings allowed remaining funds to be used for additional site grading, paving the roundabout, pouring concrete curbs along the new road and adding a new entrance sign.
The project dates back to 2023, when Coughlin launched the effort to secure funding for a new access road connecting Highway 7 with the existing industrial park road from Highway 32. The second entrance would open the park to through traffic and provide better access for tractor-trailers and future industry.
The access road became the catalyst for what eventually grew into the $1.8 million project, expanding to include preparation of a nearly 30-acre building site and the other improvements.
Coughlin emphasized that the remaining money could not be redirected for unrelated expenses.
“The money that we received for this project, we can’t take it out and use it for whatever we want,” Coughlin explained.
A roundabout at the end of the new road was originally included but was not expected to be paved. It will now receive pavement.
“We didn’t have money for curbs to make it look more professional,” Coughlin said. “It was just going to be paved and drop off the edges, but we had money left over, so now it’s going to have curbs.”
The project also includes a new entrance sign. Water Valley aldermen approved a $14,990 quote from W.W. Mitchell Signs Company in May, with the cost covered through project funding.
Additional dirt work has brought the nearly 30-acre building site within approximately two feet of final grade, significantly reducing the site preparation a future industry would face while maintaining enough slope for drainage.
Coughlin said the site is now close to the point where a future industry could move directly into foundation work.
Funding for the $1.8 million project was assembled through Tennessee Valley Authority, the Mississippi Development Authority, Delta Regional Authority, Appalachian Regional Commission, State of Mississippi, City of Water Valley and Yalobusha County.
Coughlin said completing the road and site preparation will make the industrial park easier to market and give Water Valley and Yalobusha County a stronger position when competing for new industry.
