Work to shore up the banks of Steele Bayou was declared finished by the U.S. Corps of Engineers last week. 

Contractors with Luhr Brothers Construction Company had worked since mid-September to repair a scour hole that developed downstream of the Mississippi 465 bridge, which closed intermittently during the work. In a release, the Corps said 225,000 tons of riprap was placed along the channel bottom and sides to do the job by Nov. 17, two weeks ahead of schedule.

“The impacts to the public were kept to a minimum while working in the immediate vicinity of Highway 465 Bridge. The stabilization of the Steele Bayou Outlet Channel has been accomplished due to this project,” said Lamar Jenkins, assistant area engineer of the Corps’ Vicksburg District’s Greenwood office.

Project engineers said the riprap filled in areas along 500 feet of the bayou’s bank south of the bridge. Trucks used the Yazoo Backwater Levee as a detour to save 465 from structural damage, the Corps said.

Dredging near major ports along the main stem of the Mississippi River was to continue through mid-December.