Half of the property owners eyed by Warren County in the fifth and final phase of work to clear city bayous of debris have signed papers allowing access to their land, officials said this week.

Clearing about four-tenths of a mile of Hatcher Bayou south of Greenbriar subdivision involves 28 parcels, of which 15 have been signed over by landowners, said Michele Moore, of Gouras Urban Planning Consultants Inc., administrator of the grant that’s funding the work.

Riprap placed along the sides of the ditches has been the extent of the work. The county has not ruled out taking the rest of the properties via eminent domain. No legal action has begun to date, however.

The work is the end of a project that started in 2008 when the county secured a $3.9 million Katrina-related disaster grant. Phases along Glass Bayou were completed in 2010-11. In 2012, the Mississippi Development Authority pulled $1.5 million from the project when a phase along Stouts Bayou stalled for a time.

That phase, initially planned along parts of the bayou behind homes on Lane Street and near Glenwood Circle, was shortened when too few property owners wanted to donate land.