Some Sunflower County residents apparently still have a total disregard for the “Bridge Closed” signs on county overpasses, because they continue to take down the signage and remove or partially remove the blockades on rural roadways.
County Engineer Ron Cassada wants them to stop it.
For over a decade, he has continually stressed that when a bridge is posted, you should heed the warning.
In a May 2006 front-page E-T article that referenced five rural bridges that were closed to traffic because they were supported by deteriorated wooden pilings, Cassada is quoted as saying, “These old bridges are dangerous. If these people would just get out and look underneath one of these bridges, I don't think there is any way in the world that they would take their lives in danger and cross them as some people are doing."
And although the bridges mentioned at Monday’s Sunflower County Board of Supervisors meeting may differ in location and in some cases condition, the fact remains that these structures have been closed because they have been deemed unsafe to cross.
And aside from the obvious danger it poses to those who defy the closings or are unaware of the hazard because the signs are no longer there, it could result in a monetary loss to the county.
Cassada said Sunflower County could lose thousands of dollars. He told the county lawmakers, “If they (federal inspectors) go out there and those things are not properly posted, you could lose your federal funding.” He called the situation “critical.”
In recent months, the signs and or barriers on at least seven closed bridges were removed twice. The structures are located on Kemp Road, McCoy Lake Road, Tindall Road, Clark Road, Lyon Bridge Road, Adair Road and Grittman Road.
At Monday’s session, Cassada suggested that the county lawmakers pay an outside contractor to erect “more substantial permanent closures.”
According to him, the Mississippi Office of State Aid is pushing the measure and has a statewide contract with a provider to erect the guards.
The heavy-duty barricades will consist of large eight-inch by eight-inch posts with metal guardrails and will cost about $5,000 each. Cassada said the structures would be sturdier than what the county now has in place and it would take a backhoe or other heavy equipment to knock them down.
He asserted that the county road crews have been following the federal and state required guidelines in putting up the existing barriers, but that has not stopped people from stealing the signs or knocking down the blockades so they can ride their 4-wheelers or go through them to hunt.
The current method used by the county road crews involves digging out ruts at the blocked bridge’s entrance, piling up mounds of dirt and installing posts and signs; however, people come along and knock the signage down and re-fill the holes with dirt so they can drive across.
According to Cassada, the county is able to use its state aid Local System Bridge-replacement Program money to pay for the new barricades, even though the funds are normally used for bridges.
One thing in the county’s favor is the fact that three of the closed bridges—Kemp, McCoy Lake and Tindall roads—are scheduled for replacement within the next year or two using the allocated Emergency Road and Bridge Repair money. Cassada said two of those three are ready for bids.
He suggested that the lawmakers not spend any money on the heavy-duty barricade for those bridges, but simply instruct the road department to keep a closer watch over them until construction begins.
He surmised that it could be more than two years before the Adair Road or Grittman Road bridges would be replaced and the remaining two—Clark Road and Lyon Bridge roads—will not be replaced.
Cassada cautioned the citizens not to cross any closed bridges. “It is very dangerous,” he said.
In other business, Cassada told the county leaders that a pre-construction conference for the College Avenue Bridge was held last week and new bridge construction is scheduled to begin in a few days.
He described the construction as a four and a half month concrete boxed culvert project and said since no piles have to be put in place it should be complete by mid November to December, depending on the weather. Cassada said this one bridge construction has been in the works for more than 20 years and he can’t wait for it to be over.
The new bridge will also have sidewalks on the east and west sides, he said.
