MDOT drilling well in downtown Jackson

JACKSON — Several state government offices closed when water pipes froze and burst in Jackson this past winter.

Now, the Mississippi Department of Transportation is drilling its own water well for an emergency backup system.

Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall says officials are trying to avoid the potential of another temporary government shutdown.

The well is next to the MDOT building in downtown Jackson. By 2012, it could provide water for drinking — and toilet flushing — to MDOT and the Woolfolk state office building next door.

The system also would provide water to keep heating and air conditioning systems working at the Capitol, the Supreme Court building and the nearby Sillers state office building. But those three would not get water for drinking or flushing.