Work is now expected to begin this week to stabilize the eroding slope off Washington Street following an emergency declaration by the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen Tuesday. Meanwhile, Mayor Laurence Leyens said the city is scrambling to find an additional $3 million to $4 million for the project.

Three contractors were asked to submit proposals for the stabilization by 10 a.m. today, and Public Works Director Bubba Rainer said he hopes to have the job under contract by this afternoon.

“We told them not to bother submitting a proposal if they couldn’t be mobilized and working by the end of this week,” he said. 

Filling in the ever-widening gully and stabilizing the bluff will cost the city approximately $500,000 to $700,000, Rainer estimated. Leyens said the city may be able to tap into $575,000 of Natural Resources Conservation Service emergency funds, which would require a 25 percent local match.

The city set aside $5 million of a $16.9 million bond issue in 2006 to replace the 80-year-old bridge over the railroad tracks at Clark Street. The Federal Railroad Administration is to reimburse the city $4 million of the cost. Kansas City Southern is overseeing the project, which calls for a railway tunnel with a roadway atop.

Leyens said bids for the work came in at $9 to $10 million — about $3 or $4 million higher than KCS engineers had anticipated. He said he’s contacted the Mississippi Department of Transportation in hopes of getting additional funds through the $787 billion stimulus package.

Leyens has also asked the Mississippi Development Authority to reallocate a portion of the $3.9 million Warren County received following Hurricane Katrina for bayou cleaning to the project. The county won the grant, but has not accepted the money because it would require an agreement to provide continued maintenance. Leyens previously asked MDA to reallocate the money to pay for a feasibility study of a port south of Vicksburg near the airport.

“They haven’t gotten back to me yet (on the original request), but this is obviously a more pressing issue,” he said.

If outside funding cannot be found, Leyens said the city will have to foot the bill.

“We have the $5 million available from the bond issue in the bank and we could use it, but our note would be higher,” he said. “I’d rather use someone else’s money if we can.”

Stabilizing the nearby slope was to be included in the tunnel project. The city had hoped the work could wait until KCS got the project under contract, but the land has eroded too quickly. A week ago, falling land took with it an AT&T conduit full of cables, severing phone and Internet service to an undetermined number of Vicksburg customers. Service was restored Tuesday morning, said spokeswoman Sue Sperry.

Rainer said he did not think the slope had been compromised any further since that slide, which left about 2 feet of green space between Washington Street and the gully. He estimated about 10 feet of land has eroded since January 23 — when the 100-yard long bridge was closed to traffic. Much of the erosion has been caused by a storm drain pipe that empties into the gulch.

“It hasn’t gotten any worse, but that doesn’t mean it won’t get worse. That’s why we’re trying to get something going quickly,” Rainer said.

City officials have estimated the road could be closed for up to 18 months while the tunnel is constructed. Traffic on the main north-south city corridor is being detoured through City Park.

*

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com.