Damage to the fourth pier of the U.S. 80 bridge is no worse than any other time it has been hit, Superintendent Herman Smith confirmed to Vicksburg Bridge Commission members Wednesday as they viewed pictures of the Feb. 1 impact for the first time.

&#8220It’s still there,” Smith said of the reinforced concrete support poured for the bridge 76 years ago.

HNTB, the engineering firm the commission has hired to perform annual inspections, declared the county-owned bridge structurally sound after a pendulum weight deep within the pier returned to its normal position.

Had it not done so, it would have shown shifting of the pier after the impact that freed oil barges to float downstream – one of them in flames. No injuries were reported.

In December, the company also affirmed the integrity of the bridge, with concerns about movement in the second pier from the Mississippi bank, and other issues.

The oil tow of the MV John Roberts was trying to navigate south through the old bridge and the Interstate 20 bridge which parallels it. The tow being handled by Mandeville-based Florida Marine Transporters, broke apart after hitting the pier, leaving a gash of about 6 inches.

The total number of times downstream river traffic has hit the bridge was not known, but the figure is at least in the dozens. Impacts sometimes occur several times in a year and often when the river is at higher stages with fast-moving and stronger swirling currents.

Also Wednesday, the commission put on hold a renewal of its professional services contract with the Baton Rouge-based company.

Commission attorney Bobby Bailess was directed to consult with company executives as the board was concerned with details of the first proposal.

The scope of the company’s liability on the work it performs on the bridge was mentioned as a concern, along with adjusting compensation to align with the commission’s meeting cycle.

The firm has been involved with the bridge almost since it was privately built in 1930 as the first river crossing for trains and vehicles in the region. The bridge was the last link in America’s first all-weather coast-to-coast paved highway. Vehicles no longer use it because the roadbed has deteriorated and its width no longer meets safety minimums.

In other business, rail traffic across the bridge was reported at 28,228 cars in January. The total number of trains per day has decreased, though, from 18 to about 15 in the past three months.

&#8220The trains are getting extremely long,” Smith said.

Lease checks from Kansas City Southern railway arrived in January covering November and December fees. Amounts totaled $106,728 and $112,028, respectively, reflecting a rate of $4 per car the commission has tried to renegotiate with the railroad for a year and a half.

The commission also approved a pay estimate of $29,928 by T.L. Wallace Construction on work that would relocate bearings, reset a windshear device and firm up other supports on pier 2.