An annual inspection of the U.S. 80 bridge across the Mississippi River has deemed the structure safe overall, though challenges still remain with pier movement and some smaller parts of the 76-year-old bridge.

According to a report prepared by architectural services firm HNTB, pier 2, the second concrete pier from the Mississippi bank, has moved 9.4 inches to the west since 1997, the last time a windshear device on the pier protecting it from high winds was reset.

&#8220The bridge is still safe right now,” said Rudy McLellan, senior technical adviser for structures with the Baton Rouge-based company, who presented the report to the commission. &#8220But it still needs corrections as we go along.”

In the 2005 report, the pier was reported to have moved again after no movement had been recorded for about a year. If it continues, McLellan said, some type of structural analysis is in order.

Moving the windshear device to the west to allow for pier movement and repairing or replacing bearings in the pier were two items mentioned as urgently needed, something for which the commission asked McLellan to provide cost estimates for construction and engineering.

Continued instability in the bridge’s support structures is due to movement in the earth, he said.

&#8220It’s a deep-seated problem,” McLellan said.

A study directed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development released in September showed &#8220significant movement” in the Interstate 20 bridge, particularly to the E2 pier directly across from pier 2 on the older bridge.

Commissioners on the board that manages the neighboring U.S. 80 bridge have said since the study’s outset that it would have a direct impact on future efforts to shore up the piers holding up the older span.

The total price tag on stabilizing the entire structure was $50 million over a 15-year time span. Studies by private firms and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have estimated the cost of just shoring up the pier beneath the older bridge at $2 million or more.

Also addressed in the report was the condition of lateral bracing running along the top of the track. The problem stems from work done in the mid-1990s by a firm hired by Kansas City Southern Railway that ordered the wrong size ties, creating friction when trains pass.

The report urges the commission to have the railroad be responsible for repairs.

Members of the commission are appointed by the Warren County Board of Supervisors and, in turn, contract with HNTB to perform annual above-water inspections of the bridge infrastructure.

Stability of the bridge may be among the obstacles faced in making the proposed pedestrian park and bike path a reality.

Funding for the project would come from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, which is seeking $50 million out of a $244.1 federal highway enhancement bill to fund three similar projects around the state in addition to the bridge park here.

According to MDOT, the project has been placed on a list of four projects that are in the &#8220contingency” category, meaning issues of either matching money or legal matters must be resolved in order for it to go forward.

It must receive a favorable recommendation from the Federal Highway Administration.

&#8220Also, it would probably involve having all the bridge’s issues resolved,” MDOT Central District Commission administrative office official Lee Hill said late Thursday, alluding to issues he said are both structural and legal.

The project, for which MDOT is requesting $2,080,000, is opposed by KCS, which sent a letter to transportation officials and the entire Mississippi legislative delegation in August expressing their disfavor.

The commission heard from District 4 Supervisor Carl Flanders on the matter, who suggested the commission meet with MDOT on the funding status. Commissioners agreed in principle.

&#8220Our problem is not (matching) money, it’s getting KCS on board,” chairman Robert Moss said.

Though the railroad has long promised legal action if the idea went beyond planning stages, commissioners openly questioned some of the railroad’s issues, like liability in the event of an accident.

Other projects on the contingency list mentioned by Hill include a Rails-To-Trails project in northern Mississippi, a historic downtown trail in Natchez and a welcome center in Lucedale.

As for other matters addressed relating to KCS, rail traffic was unreported for November.

&#8220I’ve called for two weeks,” superintendent Herman Smith said. &#8220Nothing but voice mails.”

The railroad reported traffic for October at 28,680, in keeping with a year-long trend of higher train traffic through Vicksburg. KCS officials have said the heightened traffic is part of the company’s goal to create more efficient routes across the Southeast and into Mexico.

A check for $107,550 was paid this month by KCS to the commission covering October, reflecting a rate of $4 per car.