JACKSON, MS — Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons recently joined Rep. Gregory Holloway, Supervisor Perry Hood, Supervisor Daryl McMillian, Crystal Springs Mayor Sally Garland, and other officials to cut the ribbon on several upgrades made to a Copiah County railroad crossing.

The Alonzo railroad crossing, otherwise known as Hartley Lane, is a small county road that connects roughly a dozen homes to County Line Road. Before placing signals and gates at the crossing, the county had to widen the roadway so that the crossing arms would not trap a vehicle exiting the crossing.

“I saw a news report about an accident that occurred at this crossing during the summer of 2019 while campaigning. As soon as I became Commissioner in January 2020, I made this crossing a safety priority for the Central District to be addressed as soon as possible,” Simmons said. “The coordination of these upgrades dates back even further.”

Commissioner Simmons was joined by Daniel Minter, brother of Alonzo Minter, who was killed in an accident at the crossing in October 2010. In 2013, to further honor his fallen brother and others, Minter worked with local officials to officially name the crossing “Alonzo’s Crossing.”

The project to install the signals and gates was funded through the Federal Highway Administration’s railroad crossing improvement program, which is administered by the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT). The program provides 90 percent of the total project costs, requiring a 10 percent match that was provided by MDOT.