Major work has begun to repair the eroding slope off Washington Street near a closed bridge, said Public Works Director Bubba Rainer, and the job should be complete in about a month.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a $434,917 contract for the work Friday, however, Rainer said Kanza Construction crews arrived on site with equipment last weekend and have begun hauling out truck loads of dirt from the area.

“They have to excavate about 500 to 600 yards of bad material, then put in a rock or other kind of stable base and begin hauling in dirt,” explained Rainer. “You ought to be seeing some real activity going on there.”

Approximately 12,500 yards of dirt will be needed to fill in the gulch, said Rainer, which is coming from two sources in Vicksburg. Crews will be working 10 hours a day, seven days a week, he said, and are aiming to have the work done in 30 days.

Kanza is one of three companies vying for a contract with Kansas City Southern for an affiliated project to replace the nearby 80-year-old bridge over the railroad tracks at Clark Street. The slope stabilization was to be included in the tunnel project, but rapid erosion during March caused the city to declare the situation an emergency March 31 and put the stabilization project under contract separately.

Bids for the tunnel came in around $9 to $10 million — nearly double the original estimates — which has sent KCS and bidding companies back to the negotiating table. Rainer said he met with KCS and company representatives in Jackson Thursday, and revised bids will now be submitted to KCS by Friday.

“They are revisiting those proposals to see if there’s anything we can streamline or eliminate to reduce the total cost,” he said, noting everyone involved had hoped the project would be under way by now. “Certainly, we had hoped so. We’ve worked four years just to get to this point, but we’re getting closer. Once this is under contract, it shouldn’t take too long for work to begin.”

The city set aside $5 million of a $16.9 million bond issue in 2006 to replace the bridge, which has been closed to traffic since Jan. 23. The Federal Railroad Administration is to reimburse the city $4 million of the cost of the tunnel.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said the city is looking to find an additional $3 million to $4 million for the project from economic stimulus money or other grants. If the additional money cannot be found externally, the city will have to pick up the tab. Separately, the city received a grant for up to $400,000 from the National Resource Conservation Service for the slope stabilization, which will pay about 75 percent of the cost of dirt. However, city coffers will have to finance the repairing and replacing of storm drains and sewers.

City officials have estimated the bridge could be closed through the summer of 2010 while the tunnel is constructed. Traffic on the main north-south city corridor is being detoured through City Park.

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On the agenda

On Friday, the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen:

* Approved meeting minutes from March 10.

* Proclaimed the week Auxiliary at River Region Week in recognition of volunteer efforts.

* Administered and witnessed the oath of office to Brad Derrington and appointed him to the police department.

* Acknowledged Lillie Plummer as the Vicksburg Senior Center Senior of the Month.

* Received an update on events at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center from Executive Director Annette Kirklin.

* Awarded a sealed bid for weed control to Weed Pro LLC of Swartz, La., to spray city rights-of-way, Valley Mills Pipe Yard, bayous and the City Front flood wall three times annually for $5,174 per spraying.

* Awarded a sealed bid for white goods disposal to Keyes Recycling of Vicksburg, with the city to receive $105.06 per ton of materials recycled.

* Declared various city property surplus or scrapped, and authorized the items to be offered for sale by Mississippi Auction Service LLC.

* Approved spending $19,461 to purchase guide rails and assembly parts from Parson & Sanderson to repair seven sewer pumps at Standard Hill, Falk Steel, Chickasaw and Ford roads, as well as at Mission 66, Park, Hutson and Hope streets.

* Approved a vehicle lease agreement with NRoute to take members of the Vicksburg Senior Center on a guided tour of the Vicksburg National Military Park on April 20. NRoute will be paid $50 per hour.

* Approved a request from the parks and recreation department for $4,544 to pay the Vicksburg-Warren Baseball Association for insurance and sanction fees.

* Executed assurances of acquisitions conditions for a MEMA Mitigation Grant Program Project application.

* Canceled a deed of trust for Cynthia Maniel.

* Adopted the following budget amendments: a decrease of $2,700 in the services category of the right-of-way department budget and a transfer of the same amount into the supplies category; an increase of $6,000 in the gas operating fund to replace old video equipment and an increase of $34,000 in the gas district department for gas line replacement.

* Declared retired Vicksburg Police Lt. Frank Phelps’ badge as surplus and authorized the sale of it to Phelps for $54.

* Approved a request of $550 in advertising from DBR Publishing for Vicksburg and Warren Central high schools’ football programs.

* Accepted a letter of engagement from Ken Halford to completed the 2007 audit within 90 days.

* Approved the claims docket.

In executive session, the board:

* Approved hiring one employee in each the recreation and parks and recreation departments.

* Approved rehiring six lifeguards for the City Pool in the recreation department.

* Approved pay adjustments for two employees in the recreation department.

The next board meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. April 20 in room 109 of the City Hall Annex, 1415 Walnut St.

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Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com