Because of structurally unsafe conditions at the bridge on North 28th Avenue in Hattiesburg just south of Foxfire Drive, city officials have closed the bridge for the next several months while reconstruction takes place.
The closure took effect at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 21, based on the recommendations from a third-party structural engineer and a bridge inspection team. The bridge’s unsafe travel conditions were revealed while reviewing drainage conditions in the area.
“You have at least six wood pilings that were either rotten or that were significantly damaged,” Mayor Toby Barker said. “You had one of the abutments that had a hole in it, and one of the headwalls had rotted out too.
“It started with a routine check involving some drainage, where they found some significant items, and they made the recommendation to close the bridge.”
Work on the bridge is expected to last approximately nine months.
“That’s to design a new bridge, get it out and go to construction,” Barker said. “I think that you’re looking at a timeline like that.
“Design work will (start immediately), and you’ll probably see design happening through the rest of the year. We haven’t had great experiences getting things done during Christmas time, so we have a goal of going to bid in the early part of January – that would be a timeline that might work.”
North 28th Avenue will be closed throughout the duration of the rebuild. Signage will be posted at the intersection of Sims Road and North 28th Avenue, detouring to North 31st Avenue and at the intersection of West 7th Street and North 28th Avenue.
If residents live north of the bridge, they will be rerouted to Sims Road. Motorists will be able to access West 7th Street by way of North 31st Avenue.
If residents live south of the bridge, they will have clear access to West 7th Street. North 31st Avenue can be taken from West 7th Street to travel north.
If residents live near Hillside Drive, they will be able to turn north on North 28th Avenue, but not south.
“Detour signs are already up, and we’ve sent notices to about 140 different residences in the area to let them know yesterday,” Barker said.
Based on a previous, similar bridge project on Campbell Scenic, the cost of the North 28th Avenue bridge replacement is expected to cost around $500,000.
“This is one of a handful of bridges – less than a dozen – that don’t fall under the state aid bridge inspection program, because it’s less than 20 feet (long),” Barker said. “What I would like to see the city do going forward, is to have some type of contract with someone who can inspect those bridges that don’t fall under the state aid program.
“That applies to our pedestrian bridges as well. Now, we have the funding to take care of this, either through our upcoming Internet sales tax allotment that will come in January, or some other needs. However, we really want to work toward some sort of scheduled maintenance and replacement of these bridges – as well as our larger bridges – and that’s what I hope to see our city do in the coming months.”
