Work to shore up Haining Road took another step Monday when the Warren County Board of Supervisors directed county engineers to work up a contract.

The move followed a public hearing attended only by county officials.

The lone access road to the Port of Vicksburg is maintained by the city. However, the county board, which ratifies decisions of the port commission, has taken the lead most recently in handling erosion issues below the driving surface. In March, the county redirected to the effort about $500,000 left from a $3.9 million grant secured in 2008 to clear bayous of storm debris from Hurricane Katrina.

The full project to improve drainage and rebuild sliding soil will cost about $2 million, county engineers and officials have said. Federal block grants overseen by the Mississippi Development Authority will fund the majority of the project and, in keeping with rules governing the grants, prompted Monday’s short hearing.

“Once there’s an approval of MDA, we’d like the board’s approval to execute a contract and authorize the board president to sign it,” said Brian Robbins of Stantec, the county’s engineering firm of record. The board approved the request unanimously.

The Katrina-related project fell flat when residents along city bayous didn’t agree to give away property to further the work. In 2012, the county matched a $1.5 million federal highway grant to rebuild the ridge below Industrial Drive, which branches off Haining Road to the northwest.