Warren County will extend an existing bond issue to help pay for replacing the T-dock crane support structure at the Port of Vicksburg and, if necessary, to close funding gaps in replacing the crane itself and the project to widen the Yazoo Diversion Canal.

The decision to borrow the money to close out the trio of projects comes at the end of months of seeking other funding.

Members of the Port Commission approved a plan Monday that would rehab the approach bridge leading to the dock and replace the T-dock itself at an estimated cost of $1.7 million.

Rolled into the dock financing is nearly $272,000 in added funding to the canal widening, a contribution that may become necessary if Army Corps of Engineers appropriations do not cover the project.

Up to $2.5 million in general obligation bonds will be the maximum set in an upcoming resolution of intent by county supervisors, expected Thursday. County Administrator John Smith, joined by all five supervisors and county engineers at the port commission’s session, said talks with Jackson-based Government Consultants Inc. helped form the plan.

&#8220It is the best route to take,” Smith said.

Taxpayers are now paying on port improvement bonds issued in 1998 and set to be paid off in July 2008. The new bond issue would leave in place the .53 mills of taxation until the new debt is paid off.

Details suggested were annual payments of up to $250,000, with the hope of having the first payment deferred until 2009.

The Port Commission is a five-member panel appointed by supervisors to manage industrial sites developed by the county, including the E.W. Haining park at the Vicksburg Harbor and Ceres at Flowers.

At the Port of Vicksburg, the commission contracts out operation of the dock and crane used to load and unload barges.

Closed for nearly three weeks now, the T-dock was built in the early 1970s and supports a 15-ton capacity crane.

Inspections that began in December showed corrosion of steel pipes and cracked welds underneath the structure from years of barges bumping against the dock. A subsequent report by ABMB Engineers Inc., the county engineering firm, said pilings were stressed to where the dock may not be able to handle loads that sometimes reach 70,000 pounds.

Tom Murphree of Kinder Morgan Bulk Terminals, the contract operator, told commissioners the company had &#8220dual concerns” about the status of the dock, the quality and load-bearing ability, adding the shutdown has taken money &#8220out of our pocket.”

County Engineer John McKee reiterated the need for a fender system to protect it from yearly wear and tear of barges making contact with it. Additionally, he said, annual maintenance inspections should become routine.

The crane itself was due to be replaced at a cost of $2 million, to be paid for chiefly with grants. The remaining $390,000 was rolled into the motion commissioners passed concerning the dock and channel-widening projects.

The canal-widening project has been in planning stages for at least 10 years. It will increase the width and depth of the Yazoo Canal from the Mississippi River to the harbor entrance.

The estimated cost was $3.6 million and 4H Construction of Cleveland, Miss., has twice extended its low bid for the work, which came in at $4.7 million. Federal funds still may close a gap in money available for the work, but if not the bond issue will be extended to raise the money.