Beginning Aug. 22, Bellaire Drive from 52 Bellaire Drive south to its intersection with Porters Chapel Road will be permanently closed by the City of Vicksburg, interim public works director Garnet Van Norman said.

“We will be placing barricades up at Number 52, and later put up signs saying ‘no through traffic,’” he said.

Access to the 1,000-foot section of the residential street will be from Porters Chapel only.

City attorney Lee Thames said the street is being closed at the request of the nine families living on that section of Bellaire. He said the city’s ordinances have a process that allows officials to close a street at the request of residents without going through the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Bellaire Drive resident Kate Holifield, who lives on the north end of the street west of 52 Bellaire Drive, said she has been trying to get the street closed for two years.

“This is a narrow street. It’s not big enough for two cars,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of cut-through traffic and speeders. I’ve had to replace my mailbox.”

Another problem, she said, is a 90-degree curve on the north end of the street just before her home that prevents people traveling in both directions from seeing oncoming traffic.

“When you get in that curve, you can’t see what’s coming, and people speed when they go through it,” she said. “We’ve had several collisions there. When I pull out of my drive, I can’t tell if anyone’s coming. I’m glad they’re closing it down.”