LIBERTY — Of the 10 roads in Amite County closed due to excessive flooding earlier this month, six have reopened to traffic.
Amite County supervisors on Thursday gave an update on the four roads still closed because of significant damage to the surface, shoulders or bridges.
Closed are Ewell Road, Mary Wall Bridge Road, Lower Centreville Road and sections of Nebo Road.
Those that were closed and have reopened to full or limited traffic are Ash, Dominick and Perry roads, Robinson Lane and the south end of County Farm Road. Also open is Street Road south of where it intersects with Powell Road.
Supervisors learned that Ewell Road will reopen soon, but the two roads with major damage and where bridge replacement is necessary are Lower Centreville and Nebo roads.
Board president Jackie Whittington said the bridge over Foster Creek on Nebo Road is not in Amite County; it’s in Wilkinson County. He said Wilkinson officials have been notified, and it will be up to that county to see that the bridge is fixed.
“I’ve been getting a lot of calls, but that bridge is not in Amite County,” Whittington said.
On Thursday, supervisors heard from Rifle Range Road resident James Jelks, who wanted an idea about when Lower Centreville will reopen. Jelks noted that Lower Centreville is a major east-west route for residents in that area of the county.
There’s not a solid answer on the work timeframe. Even with a process on the fast track because it’s emergency work, county engineer David Cothren said it could be at least six or seven months before everything is fixed.
Cothren said five sites on Lower Centreville Road will be part of the emergency project that involves at least a six-mile stretch.
“There are lots of unknowns,” Cothren said.
He noted the road has a multiple problems — shoulders and culverts washed out, guard rails gone, and the Beaver Creek bridge is “completely demolished.”
“There’s no drainage structures we have that are designed to handle the amount of water we received,” Cothren said.
He said the emergency road work qualifies for federal funding through the Mississippi Department of Transportation. The county is looking at an 80 percent reimbursement cost, but is hoping for 100 percent funding.
A big problem for drivers is that many road shoulders have been compromised by erosion from the flooding.
“It will be a major project, and we’re going to work with it as fast as possible to get the work done,” Cothren said.
A $5,000 work project is the minimum to receive the emergency funding. On Lower Centreville Road, the concrete Beaver Creek bridge will be raised, making big pipes and big box culverts necessary.
Adding to the problem is the apparent theft of signs noting that roads are closed.
On Nebo Road, where sections are only open to local traffic, signs have been knocked down or stolen.
“It’s going to be a continual struggle with the signs, getting them back up on the same day,” Whittington said.
Cothren said missing signs present dangerous driving conditions.
“It’s a mess with the signs. People who steal them don’t realize how much they are endangering the traveling public.”
