The Mill Street Bridge is open after more than a year of construction. See details

Standing in the rain on a Monday afternoon, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba held a press conference to celebrate the opening of the Mill Street Bridge in downtown Jackson.

The bridge has been under construction for a year and a half, according to Lumumba and Robert Lee, Jackson's city engineer and current interim director of the Department of Public Works. Driving south down North Mill Street and over the bridge, residents are taken right into downtown Jackson's West Capitol Street Historic District and in-front of Union Station.

"We're here to celebrate the opening of the Mill Street Bridge. This is has been a project that has long been anticipated by the businesses and residents that use this corridor frequently," Lumumba said. "It connects much of our community to downtown Jackson."

The construction of the bridge was a partnership between the City of Jackson, the Mississippi Department of Transportation and Hemphill Construction Co Inc., which is based in Richland. Lumumba thanked all those involved in the project, then held a ribbon cutting ceremony.

More news on downtown Jackson: JHLS to receive federal grant to help the Eudora Welty Library. See what the plans are

"When you look at the fact that we're connecting the business community to the greater downtown area of Jackson with all of the activities going on and the Union Train Station, this corridor is a direct connection to that," said MDOT's Central District Transportation Commissioner Willie Simmons.

Lumumba also announced MDOT has given the city a $450,000 check to repair sidewalks in-front of the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument in northwest Jackson. The monument is the home of civil rights heroes Medgar and Myrlie Evers, who lived in Jackson.

"This is a destination point for tourists and individuals to come into Jackson and want to go the Medgar Evers home," Simmons said.

Medgar Evers gala: Medgar Evers assassination: Myrlie Evers-Williams recounts the details

"One of the things that Rena Evers and Myrlie Evers has recited time and time again is that they want this particular project, this particular national site to not only lift up their legacy and their story, they want it to lift up the community that means so much to them," Lumumba said.

Got story ideas? Want to talk about the issues facing the City of Jackson? Contact Charlie Drape at cdrape@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mill Street Bridge now open in downtown Jackson, MS