Even though the College Avenue Bridge is already designed, has received grant application approval and is ready to be advertised, the long-awaited bridge project has hit another roadblock enroute to completion.
That’s in spite of the fact that the full cost to replace the structure was covered in the initial application.
The project cannot move forward for now and the reason being, since it has been “sitting on the shelf” waiting on funding for quite some time, the preliminary engineering fees and some of the work, such as the environmental studies and geo-technical work all totaling more than $25,000 had to be done prior to now and the grant will not allow payment for prior work.
The project started out as a county bridge project but is now being funded through federal grant funds to the City of Indianola.
The city leaders gave approval to begin the bidding process nearly a month ago, but the near decade-long project cannot be advertised for bids until those initial fees are covered.
Indianola Mayor Steve Rosenthal appeared before the Sunflower County Board of Supervisors on Monday to ask the county leaders to furnish the $25,000 shortfall.
However, their ability to comply is hinged upon whether the Mississippi Legislature passes House Bill 779.
The Bill is an act to amend and revise how the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Fund monies can be spent.
It would allow county supervisors to spend the bridge repair funds during their last terms of office.
In addition, the supervisors would be able to take the necessary monies out of the county’s State Aid fund and Local System Bridge Program funds.
Even though the county lawmakers voted on Monday to issue the necessary board order to remove the College Avenue Bridge from the State Aid program so they can use State Aid funds for it, there are still several steps that have to be taken.
County Engineer Ron Cassada said MDOT will not allow him to advertise the project until the state receives the order, sends the county a bill for the money that has already been spent and the county issues a check for that amount.
At last report, Bill 779 has passed through the House but still has to pass the Senate and is in committee.
Cassada said the details that refer to the payment for previously completed work will be “ironed out in conference.”
If the Bill does not pass, the county may still provide the requested funds since College Avenue is a school route and is often used to divert unnecessary traffic away from the already congested downtown streets.
In other business,
The county leaders voted 4 to 1 to provide the justice court judges with county-issued cell phones.
The request from one of the judges was presented to the board by Justice Court Clerk Patricia Strong. District 3 Supervisor Dennis Holmes voted no.
Lawmakers heard a presentation from Dwight Utz regarding the possibility of utilizing a modular construction pilot bridge-erection system he has developed. County Engineer Ron Cassada informed Utz that the county was not in a position to engage in a test program because all bridges are regulated through State Aid and MDOT, so a bridge has to have state approval.
The county supervisors voted to authorize the auctioning of five items seized by and stored at the sheriff’s department through sealed bids on April 15.
The money received from the sale has to be held in a special account for 90 days. If the property owners show up after that time, the purchased amount would be given to the verified owner.
According to an update from Comptroller Stephanie Washington the county has over $11,000,000 in the bank, cash on hand.
