While eating breakfast with her parents at their newly constructed Washington Street home Sunday, Diane Lutz saw another chunk of land slip off into a widening gully near their home, which is near the closed bridge spanning the rail tracks at Clark Street.

The Lutzes completed their home in 2008, moving here in retirement because they liked the town and especially the opportunity to build on a lot with a majestic view of the Mississippi River.

“We were watching a barge go by and all of a sudden the fence that used to be an overlook was just hanging there with nothing beneath it. Now it’s getting real close to the pavement” of Washington Street, said Lutz. “It’s scary.”

Lutz, who lives next door to her parents, said she and her family members have begun to stay off Washington Street altogether to err on the side of safety.

“We’ve started going the back way because we don’t want to be the vehicle that goes down with the road,” she said. 

Bubba Rainer, Vicksburg Public Works Director, said the heavy rains over the past week likely quickened the erosion, which is caused largely by a storm drain that discharges near the bridge. He said Lutz and others in the area should not be concerned with the erosion affecting Washington Street itself or their homes.

“It shouldn’t have anything to do with their foundations, unless it continues to wash away and goes all the way across Washington Street — which we will not let happen,” he said. “It’s really just a matter of replacing all that dirt that’s washed out of there, and we should have it repaired before anything like that happens.”

The bridge, which Rainer said was built in 1929, has been closed to traffic since Jan. 23. Vicksburg set aside $5 million of a $16.9 million bond issue in 2006 to replace the bridge, with the Federal Railroad Administration to reimburse $4 million of the cost. The replacement plan has since been succeeded by a design calling for a tunnel through the deep ravine with a road atop. Kansas City Southern will oversee construction of the tunnel, which Rainer said could begin in as early as 30 days if all goes well.

“That project is getting ready to kick off,” he said, noting sealed proposals for the work are to be submitted by Friday. “There’s a lot of paperwork, some property issues and loose ends to tie up, but we want the work to begin as soon as possible; hopefully within a month.”

Meanwhile, KCS workers have begun replacing a storm drain alongside the tracks near Lee and Washington streets to decrease drainage problems. On Monday, a crew started to replace an 18-inch culvert with a 24-inch pipe, said KCS spokeswoman C. Doniele Kane. The work should resume today, she said, after being delayed March 10 and 11 due to rains and wet conditions.

The short bridge, about 100 yards, has a long history of problems due to the unstable bluffs rising from the river. Erosion on banks supporting the bridge has accelerated since a partial collapse in the mid-1980s. That led to an earlier blockade of the bridge, lasting more than a year while the banks were fortified. City officials have estimated the bridge could be closed for up to 18 months while the tunnel is constructed.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.