County board: no Union County bridges to be closed

New Albany, MS– No rural bridges in Union County are among the 100 in Mississippi the federal government has ruled must be closed because they are unsafe.

Last week the Federal Highway Administration announced that 100 bridges around Mississippi must be closed because they are dangerous. Some elements in the state legislature have proposed selling $50-million in bonds, to be funneled back to local governments to repair or replace unsafe bridges.

However, the Mississippi Economic Council, a conservative business organization, has said many times that amount will have to be spent annually to bring bridge and roadways in the state up to standards.

During the Monday morning, March 6th, meeting of the Union County Board of Supervisors, its president, District Three Supervisor Dave Kitchens said none of the 100 condemned bridges are in Union County. The old bridge on Martintown Road might have been on the list of bridges ordered closed by the federal government, but it was replaced in 2016 with a brand new bridge across the Little Tallahatchie River.

During the Monday meeting, bids were opened for a new asphalt paving machine. Ambrose Equipment bid $43,000 for the machine, and Faith Paving bid $35,000. The bid was awarded to Faith Paving by a 5-0 vote. The board also approved issuing a manual cashier’s check to Faith to pay for the machine.

Upon the recommendation of Chief Deputy Sheriff Johnny Bell the board approved a $14,900 bid for a Palm Scan System, which will help improve safety and security at the county jail.

The board also: