UPDATE: Megasite Growing Nearer Completion

Last week state government’s Jimmy West provided the Brownsville Board of Mayor and Aldermen with an update on development progress at the megastite. The nearly 4,000 acre tract located near I-40’s Exit 42 is officially known as the Memphis Megasite.

Last night West provided the same update to county commissioners. In today’s report we provide some details.

• The State of Tennessee has already invested $110 million in the project: $40 million to purchase the 3,840 acre site, $59.7 million in additional appropriations, and $10.4 milion kicked in from the Tennessee Dept. of Transportation.

  • The Megasite is being designed to pump 3 million gallons of water a day, from the Memphis Sands aquifer which is deep below the site;
  • The wastewater from the megasite will be pumped 14 miles to a new wastewater facility to be constructed on South Washington Street in Brownsville, and then pumped to the sewage lagoons north of Brownsville. The treated water will be pumped into the Forked Deer River;
  • TVA will supply the electricity to the site; they are in the planning and scoping phase, determining the best route for electric lines;
  • I-40 Exit 42 Interchange Improvements will begin early this summer and will be completed summer 2014;
  • State Route 222, which runs through the middle of the site, will be re-routed, running on the far east side of the tract;
  • Texas Gas and ANR gas company are willing to serve the site with natural gas;
  • Millington Telephone and AT&T are capable of providing telecommunications to the site;
  • The firm that managed the development of the Nissan site in Canton, MS – Buzz Canup (ca NUP) has been hired to help market the megasite; the website is www.memphismegasite.com.
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