Repairing Bridges In Copiah County

The work continues to repair or replace several dozen potentially dangerous bridges in Copiah County.

The county road manager says that one bridges on Hodge Road outside Hazlehurst in Copiah County is on a list to be replaced.  It has a hole where you can see the stream that flows beneath its old, wooden structure, and it has a 13,000 lbs weight limit.  It’s closed for trucks and buses, but cars still use the bridge, which is supported by wooden beams. 

Copiah County District Three Supervisor Perry Hood says there are about 50 bridges throughout the county that need to be repaired or replaced.  He showed us a bridge on Broome Street that was shut down after a loaded gravel truck traveled over it.

“We take some of the worst ones, like this,“ he said, pointing at the old wooden bridge covered with sand and stone.  “Of course it’s closed now, we’re just slowly eating away at that list.“

In addition to federal money, Hood says Copiah County receives $400,00 each year from the state’s Local System Bridge Program. 

A newly constructed bridge on Broome Street is what Hood wants all county bridges to look like.  It cost $375,000 and has been opened for about two months. 

“We want a lot of these,“ he said.  “Of course, if we keep getting funding, we’ll knock that list out.“

In 2007, Hood says the county spent about a million dollars fixing 18 bridges as part of a 108-mile road resurfacing project.