Bartahatchie Bridge is under replacement
MONROE COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI)-Boards, bricks, and piles of dirt are the only things on the Bartahatchie bridge as of right now.
“The rating got dropped by the state when they inspected it, it was not sufficed for what traffic we had coming through here, especially for loggers and school buses, said West. “Immediately, we had to see what we could do to repair it, and after no repairs could be done, a full bridge replacement was required.”
When it was built in 1965, the Bartahatchie bridge was suitable for the amount of traffic in the area.
But time and heavier traffic have taken their toll, and the bridge’s replacement is causing travel headaches for those who have relied on it
That includes Monroe County Resident Deborah Tucker and her family.
“I don’t travel that much but for my family, it has been inconvenient because my son lives in Alabama, and the quickest way is to go across the bridge, said Deborah Tucker, Lives near the Bartahatchie Bridge. “The babysitter for my daughter lives across the bridge, and it is just a big mess.”
Monroe County District Three Supervisor Rubel West said the county is now relying on Emergency Bridge Repair funds to replace the bridge and get things moving again.
“We got about $4.8 million dollars from them,” said West. “The total project costs about $5.1 million dollars, about 95% of the money is coming from the state, because this is a state aid road.”
West also said the Emergency Bridge Repair Funds, allow the county to make more upgrades, without putting the burden on Monroe County taxpayers.
“It allowed us to be able to put more money in other places, and not have to raise taxes, and that is the main thing,” said West. “We probably would have had to secure a bond and then raise taxes on people in the third district to, and we did not want to do that.”
West said the bridge is expected to be completed by July of 2025.
