Nine bridges within Yazoo County were closed by the state Monday, and county officials are making preparations to repair the structures for future travel.
The entire inspection cycle is geared towards the safety of the traveling public.
“This is a statewide issue,” said Jim Warrington, county road manager. “These closures are happening all over the state. Luckily, we only had nine closures. There are a lot more counties worse off than us.”
The nine Yazoo County bridges closed this week include:
Woodard Road, Beat 5
Hilderbrand Road, Beat 1
Anding-Oil City Road, Beat 1
Link Road, Beat 1
Hicks Road, Beat 2
Cox Road, Beat 2
Powell Road, Beat 2
Scotland Road, Beat 2
Johnson Road, Beat 4
Warrington said he received the closure report Monday, and he began shutting down those bridges Tuesday with the proper signage.
“We are to shut them down immediately,” Warrington said. “There will be no access across these bridges, and we in the process now of putting up detour signs.”
Warrington said the nine bridges have slowly deteriorated over the years after heavy travel and structure conditions.
“Over the years, the pilings under them have started to lose strength,” Warrington said. “They start rotting and decaying. They have been patched over the years, but they are to a point now where you can’t patch them up anymore.”
Warrington said the nine bridges have not had closures in the past, adding these are all new restrictions.
“Repairs have been made to several of them over the years, but none have these have been closed before,” Warrington said.
Warrington said it is hard to determine how long these projects will take to complete. He said five of the projects will begin this week.
“For example, we are starting on Woodard first because five residents live on that road,” Warrington said. “It is the only way in and out for these residents. We are focusing on the ones that have the most damaged or are the most traveled.”
Warrington did not have an exact figure for the cost of these projects. But he said his budget will be deeply impacted. Two bridges will be repaired through state aid while the remaining seven will be from the county’s bridge budget.
But Warrington is confident the county work crews will do a good job.
“We have got a great bridge crew,” he said. “They are quick, and they do a good job.”
