Northside bridge expected to reopen soon

By Randy Bell

The Northside Drive bridge over a branch of Bogue Chitto Creek has been closed since March. It is expected to open before the end of the month.

     It looks like Clintonians will be counting an extra blessing this holiday.  The Northside Drive bridge, which has been closed since March, is expected to reopen by Thanksgiving “if we don’t have any more hiccups,” according to Hinds County Director of Public Works Dexter Shelby.

     Shelby says a delay in getting some power lines shut down at the construction site cost them some time.

     The bridge over a branch of Bogue Chitto Creek near the eastern city limits was blocked off after an inspection showed advanced decay in the wooden supports. Shelby says the last of the new concrete piles have been driven, and the new deck slabs are now being installed.

     Hinds County had committed more than $300,000 for the bridge replacement, and the Clinton Board of Aldermen at its November 5 meeting approved a payment of $90,500 to reimburse the county for the seventeen deck slabs, after agreeing in September to share the cost of the project using money left over from the City’s paving program.  Originally, the plan was to reuse the old slab,s but a decision was made to replace them, because some were cracked.