Mississippi's oldest Welcome Center gets needed facelift

By By Chris Allen Baker / staff writer
April 15, 2002
Renovations are under way at the Toomsuba Welcome Center on Interstate 20/59. State highway officials hope the $900,000 project will be complete by June 2003.
Ricky May, a project manager with the Mississippi Department of Transportation, said workers are building walls for new additions to the center. Once they are done, renovations on the existing building will begin.
The renovations are long overdue, said Linda Warren, who supervises the state-managed facility.
The project also includes larger restrooms, more office and storage space, a bigger welcome area for visitors and parking lot improvements.
Warren said the center will remain open during the construction.
The welcome center is 27 years old. It was the first one built in Mississippi, and is the only one with brick columns. The other 10 have white columns. Warren said it was the busiest welcome center in the state before casinos opened on the Gulf Coast.
Mississippi's welcome centers are operated through the Mississippi Development Authority. The Toomsuba project is funded by state money, and is under contract with Sisson Construction Co. of Louisville.