Natchez board votes to temporarily close Old Providence Road bridge pending engineer inspection

The Natchez mayor and board on Thursday voted to temporarily close the aging Old Providence Road bridge for safety if a bridge inspectors written report recommends closure.

Mayor Moore said the motion before the board would close the span "pending a letter being received from the engineer that verifies that it is in need of closure for safety reasons." The motion passed by voice vote after several residents and aldermen urged immediate action.

Justin Dollar, the citys department director, told the board the timber bridge crosses a small drainage channel on a one-way road that residents use as a cut-through. Dollar outlined three options staff has considered: replacing the structure with concrete box culverts (he said a prior estimate several years ago was about $400,000), installing pipes and overlaying the roadway with in-house equipment ("probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $120,000, $130,000"), or removing the bridge and creating a cul-de-sac with bank riprap ("somewhere around the $40,000 mark"). Dollar also said the city had applied twice for ERVR funds for the bridge and had not been awarded money.

Resident Mister Minor, who said he has lived in the neighborhood for decades, urged the board not to remove the bridge without a plan that preserves neighborhood access. "If we tear that bridge out, you gotta understand it's not just the houses that's on that street. It's a whole neighborhood," he said, adding the street serves a school and several households. Mildred Chapman, another resident who spoke after the board approved allowing additional public comment, said closing the bridge could force her to take awkward alternate routes to care for family members.

Alderman Smith, citing safety concerns, initiated the motion to close the bridge temporarily. Several board members and staff agreed the city should obtain an engineers inspection before any physical closure: Dollar said an inspector could close the bridge immediately if they determine it is unsafe, and board members discussed calling a special meeting to act quickly on an engineers written finding.

Board members also discussed whether the county should share repair costs because the roadway jurisdiction is divided and whether the Mississippi Department of Transportation or other state contacts might have grant resources or technical help. Alderman Irving said she had recently discussed drainage funding possibilities with an MDOT director and offered to provide contact information.

The vote to temporarily close the bridge (pending receipt of the engineers letter) carried by voice; the mayor and board directed staff to seek and expedite the bridge inspection and the engineers written report. If the inspection recommends closure, the board discussed convening a special called meeting to authorize an immediate shutdown and to set next steps on repairs or removal.

What happens next: Staff will request a bridge inspection and the board said it will act on the inspectors written recommendation. Longer-term funding options that were discussed included reapplying for grants, pursuing state or county cost sharing and evaluating the three repair/removal alternatives presented by staff.