In the weeks since the January 22 closure of the East Hardy Street bridge that connects Petal and Hattiesburg over the Leaf River, several businesses in that area have been negatively impacted by the lack of traffic caused by that measure.
To help financially support a number of those establishments, the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce is hosting the “Bridge to Recovery Shopping Bonanza”, designed to aid four businesses on the South Main Street and Carterville Road corridor: Southern Bowling Lanes, Adams Nursery, Keith’s Superstore and The Wine Cellar. The event, which will take place on March 14, 15 and 16, will give patrons of those businesses the chance to drum up sales while entering for the chance to win a $500 cash prize.
“(The announcement) that the bridge would be closed was a shock to all the shop owners and business owners that would be affected by it – they had very little time to prepare in any way,” said Valerie Wilson, executive director of the Petal Area Chamber of Commerce. “So as a chamber, we wanted to do something to help our members that would be most affected by that closing.
“We just wanted to let them know that as an organization – but also as a city – we care about them and we want to support them in any way we can. The purpose of it is to simply get the word out to let people know that (these businesses) have, in fact, been terribly affected by the closure, but also for us as a community to show them support and let them know that we want them to make it, and we want them to be here when that bridge opens, because it’s going to be wonderful for all of us. But we do understand that (in the meantime) they’re going to be suffering.”
During the three days of the event, patrons who make a purchase at the aforementioned four businesses can put their name in a box for the $500 prize, which will be drawn at a date in the near future. Participants can enter their name once a day at each of the businesses, for a total of 12 chances to win during the course of the bonanza.
“We’ll have boxes at each of the four locations, and we’ll have a little dot that you can put on your entrance form, indicating that you have made a purchase,” Wilson said. “A purchase is required, because our goal here is to bring business to them.
“Southern Lanes is a little bit different because they sell (bowling) games, but they have offered that for every game you purchase, you get a free game to play at another time. So that’s a great incentive to go in there and bowl a game. So I hope (these businesses) understand that they’re loved by their community, and we’re here to help them.”
In early January, officials from the Forrest County Board of Supervisors announced that the bridge would be closed beginning January 22 for improvements while a new bridge is being constructed immediately adjacent to the current bridge. Officials are currently in the process of installing drainage on the current bridge, which is more than 70 years old, before building a pedestrian path over that thoroughfare.
Board president Terri Bell said the current bridge is expected to open sometime in the middle of next month.
In the meantime, however, Burkett Ross, owner of Southern Bowling Lanes on South Main Street, said his business has taken a significant hit since the closure.
“January, February and March are our biggest three months of the year – if we’re going to be real busy, that’s when it’s going to be,” said Ross, who is the former Forrest County District 3 Supervisor. “But (last) Friday was way off – it was a little better Saturday night, but it’s definitely affected us.
“There’s nothing we can do about it – I just felt like they might could have worked on that road (a little different). I would have tried to work on one side of that road if possible, then worked on the other side to close it for two or three days, or maybe a week. I didn’t know that they were going to close it for (this long). I guess that was the only way they could do it, but I certainly didn’t know about it.”
