Four bridges added to emergency list
The Kemper County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to add four bridges to the 2022 Emergency Road and Bridge Repair Funds list, including three in District 2 and one in District 4.
The vote needed to be taken during Monday morning’s regular scheduled board meeting or face possible closure of the bridges by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The recommendation came from County Engineer Terrell Temple following inspection fo the bridges.
The four bridges in question, and details about them are:
— DeKalb-Porterville Road (Firetower Road): It was noted that 12 of the piling on Bridge No. SA35- 072 are not encased and in the creek. The piling have lost up to 60 percent of their section and the structure needs to be replaced before further detonation occurs.
— Warren Town Road: Bridge No. SA35-063, which was constructed in 1969, has five of the 15 piling that have deteriorated. The bridge has posted load limits and needs to be replaced.
— Kipling Road: It was noted that Bridge No. SA35-019 was built with an obsolete design standard and while it appears to be in adequate condition, it is inadequate to carry tandem axle loads and emergency vehicles at their design load. Temple noted the structure needs to be removed and replaced.
— Kellis Store Road: Bridge No. SA35-085, which was built by the county in 1969, has been closed twice for repair and temporary splices made to 19 fo the original 30 piling. The temporary repairs eliminated the need for this bridge to be posted, but it needs to be replaced due to the potential of it being closed again should more of the 53-year-old timber piling deteriorate.
Read the full report on the May 2 meeting of the Board of Supervisors in next week’s Kemper County Messenger.