Work to fix damaged bridges throughout Newton County is progressing after crews began construction on one bridge and bids are being collected for a second.
In a regularly scheduled meeting of the Board of Supervisors last Tuesday, Board President and Beat 4 Supervisor Charles Godwin told the board construction crews were in place to begin repairs to a bridge on Lawrence-Hazel Road, which he had closed earlier this year.
“They got there this weekend to start,” he said.
To restore the bridge to full operation, Godwin said, workers will need to repair the headwalls of the bridge, the points where the structure is anchored to the banks on either side of the stream, because they were pulling away from the bank. Additionally, he said several damaged pylons will need to be replaced.
While the work could take as long as several months, Godwin said he hoped good weather would allow work to progress quickly, and residents would be able to drive along Lawrence-Hazel Road soon.
As crews work on Lawrence-Hazel, County Engineer Duane Stanford said the county is advertising for bids to repair a bridge on Newton-Calhoun Road, the funding for which was awarded as part of the $250 million Emergency Road and Bridge Act passed by the legislature during a special session in August.
“We’re advertising right now,” he said, adding the county would need to accept a bid before receiving money from the state. “They won’t put the money in there until we accept the bids.”
Since the money is coming from the state, Stanford said the county will be limited to the $430,000 it was awarded for the project. Should bids come in at more than that, he said Godwin, as Supervisor for Beat 4, will have to come up with the additional funds.
However, Stanford said, the amounts each county was awarded was publicly available. He said he would expect contractors, who want to maximize profits while keeping their bid low enough to be appealing, to bid as close to the $430,000 limit without going over.
“It kinda takes the bid process away because they already know,” he said. “It’s public knowledge.”
The bids are scheduled to be opened March 4, Stanford said, but before that can happen the board needed to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Mississippi Transportation Commission, which oversaw awarding the project funds, and appoint an engineer to oversee the project.
“It doesn’t have to be me,” he said. “I have some friends I could recommend.”
The board, however, thought Stanford would be a great appointee to oversee the bridge project. They appointed him as project engineer and approved the memorandum of understanding unanimously.
In other business, the Board of Supervisors:
●•Approved a 3-year contract to upgrade and maintain election software for $4,725 the first year and $5,725 annually for the second and third years. County Administrator Steve Seale said the state, which usually pays for maintenance of the election equipment, would be covering the costs;
•●Accepted a bid from M&D Metals for scrap metal in Beat 3 for $6 per 100 pounds. The county will load the scrap metal, but M&D Metals will be responsible for hauling it away; and
●•Heard from Bobby Addy, a resident of Chunky, who wanted to know why roads were not being grated and ditches not being cleaned out near his home. Supervisor Glenn Hollingsworth said crews hadn’t been able to operate the road grater due to weather.
