Marksville budgets $75,000 for bridge repairs

 

With all the talk about closing bridges and the need for more bridge inspections, a visitor might have thought they wandered into a Police Jury meeting instead of the Marksville City Council’s monthly get together.

 

The City Council closed three bridges in the past few weeks after state bridge inspections “recommended” they be closed. Repairs to those bridges on Foster, Tarleton and South Washington streets are now city repair priorities. 

 

City Engineer Rene Borrel said he will send out requests for bids to area contractors for the bridge repairs. The City Council authorized Mayor John Lemoine to accept the appropriate bid and sign contracts for those repairs. The council capped the budget for the repairs at $75,000, but Borrel said the work probably will not be that expensive.

 

Lemoine said the city heeded the state recommendation and closed the bridges.

 

“It is an inconvenience to the members of the public who use those bridges,” the mayor said. He said the bridge on South Washington, which crosses Bayou Savage, is probably the biggest headache because motorists have been using South Washington to bypass construction on Tunica Drive.

 

Lemoine said the Police Jury had offered to help drive pilings for the Foster Street Bridge repairs on Bayou Pierite, but the help would cost about $5,000 and might not be available very quickly as the parish crews are also on emergency bridge repair status after eight parish bridges were closed over the past month.

 

Councilman Clyde “Danny” Benson voted against authorizing $75,000 for the repairs, saying it sounded too much like “writing a blank check.” He said the city should look at the issue and decide what is the best way to address the repairs.

 

Lemoine and the other four councilmen decided the best way to address the repairs was to move quickly and get the process started -- and finished -- as soon as possible. 

 

Borrel said the remainder of the bridges in the city will be inspected in the near future. He has contracted with Kent Hardin, a former state bridge inspector, to help with that project. Borrel said the inspections will be at no additional cost to the city.

 

“He is a contracted employee of Borrel Engineering,” Borrel said.

 

“Does that mean you will be paying him,” Benson asked. “Yes,” Borrel responded.

 

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Benson exclaimed.

 

“I can bill the city if you want me to,” Borrel joked.