DeSoto
County
Population
and
Growth
According
to
the
2000
Census,
the
population
of
DeSoto
County
is
107,
199,
which
is
an
increase
of
39,289
people
from
the
1990
Census.
The
population
of
Shelby
County,
TN,
is
897,472
which
is
an
increase
of
71,142
people
from
the
1990
Census.
While
the
percentage
growth
in
DeSoto
County
is
higher
than
Shelby
County,
the
numerical
growth
is
higher
in
Shelby
County.

Based
upon
the
information
from
the
Center
for
Policy
Research
and
Planning,
Mississippi
Institutions
for
Higher
Learning,
which
are
the
official
state
demographers,
the
DeSoto
County
population
will
be
121,
000
for
2007
and
135,000
for
2012.
The
Source
of
these
projections
is
the
Center
for
Policy
Research
and
Planning,
Mississippi
Institution
of
Higher
Learning,
March
2002.
(
http://
www.
ihl.
state.
ms.
us/
urc/
planning/
pop0601.
pdf)

DeSoto
County
Commuter
Traffic
A
question
was
raised
asking
if
the
zeroing
out
of
DeSoto
County
also
removed
the
contribution
of
DeSoto
County
commuters
from
the
Shelby
County
inventory.
It
did
not.
However,
according
to
2000
US
Census
data,
the
population
of
DeSoto
County
is
approximately
107,000
with
28,000
commuting
to
Shelby
county
compared
to
Shelby
County's
population
of
approximately
897,000
with
403,000
commuters.
The
amount
of
contribution
from
DeSoto
County
commuters
would
be
relatively
insignificant.

In
addition,
all
anthropogenic
emissions
in
DeSoto
County
were
zeroed
for
the
modeling.
This
included
all
traffic
along
Highway
61,
Interstate
55,
and
Highway
78.
Most
of
the
traffic
on
these
roadways
is
pass
through
traffic
that
does
not
begin
or
end
in
DeSoto
County.
The
emissions
from
this
traffic
more
than
compensates
for
any
in
Shelby
County
that
was
not
removed.

Therefore,
the
results
of
the
Zero
out
run,
which
shows
little
contribution
from
DeSoto
County
to
the
monitors
in
Shelby
and
Crittenden
Counties,
are
reliable.

DeSoto
County
 
I­
69
Questions
Questions
were
also
raised
regarding
the
impact
of
the
I­
69
project
on
DeSoto
County.
The
I­
69
project
is
still
in
the
planning
phase
and
complete
information
is
not
available.
From
discussions
with
the
Mississippi
Department
of
Transportation
(
MDOT),
the
earliest
the
project
would
be
completed
in
the
DeSoto
County
and
Memphis
area
is
2012
to
2015.
This
is
several
years
beyond
the
future
year
modeling
and
attainment
dates
for
EAC
and
Traditional
designations.
This
is
also
several
years
after
implementation
of
the
new
low
emission
vehicle
standards
and
the
Heavy­
Duty
Diesel
rule,
which
will
significantly
decease
vehicle
emissions.

A
Map
of
the
proposed
routes
for
I­
69
in
the
Memphis
area
is
attached.
One
proposed
route
uses
existing
I­
55
as
the
corridor.
The
other
route
is
an
eastern
loop
that
bypasses
Memphis.
It
is
difficult
to
anticipate
the
growth
and
development
that
will
result
from
this
project.
While
growth
will
occur,
it
is
uncertain
how
significantly
it
will
increase
the
growth
in
DeSoto
County
since
the
county
already
has
significant
roads
connecting
it
to
Memphis
and
the
proposed
routes
do
not
open
up
new
corridors
for
commuter
traffic
into
Memphis
from
DeSoto
County.
Map
of
proposed
I­
69
corridor,
Section
9,
from
TDOT
June
2003
Newsletter.
doc.
At
this
point
in
time,
the
most
likely
scenario
would
be
the
use
of
alternative
corridor
B­
1/
B­
3.
For
more
information,
please
visit
the
Tennessee
Department
of
Transportation
website
at
www.
tdot.
state.
tn.
us
and
click
on
"
Hot
Projects".
