A Jackson testing company has been hired by the city to take and test soil and concrete samples during construction of the new Vicksburg fire station at the intersection of Berryman Road and Maxwell Drive.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Thursday approved hiring Ladner Testing Laboratories to do the work for $6,000.

Todd Ladner, company president, said the company provides construction material testing services. “What we do is as the foundation is being built and the soil is placed to build the pad, we check soil compaction and moisture content to make sure it’s going to support the new building,” he said.

“Then, as they place the concrete, we will be out there testing it, to make sure it’s not placed too wet, and we’ll take test cylinders and bring them back to our laboratory and actually crush them to make sure it’s adequate and meet the requirements of the job’s specifications.”

He said the company already has a soil sample from the site to test.

City officials in April purchased the 2.2-acre tract for the new station at the corner of Maxwell Drive and Berryman Road off East Clay Street behind Pizza Inn from Waring Investments for $400,000, and awarded a contract to Fordice Construction Co. to build the 5,110-square-foot fire station called “Vicksburg Fire Department Station 3.”

An artist’s drawing shows a brick building with a metal roof and three bays for vehicles that will open on Berryman Road. The third bay will add an additional 1,360 square feet to the station.

City officials have discussed building a new station in east Vicksburg for several years to have better and quicker access to accidents on Interstate 20, the multi-story hotels in the Clay Street area and Merit Health River Region Medical Center, which falls under the fire department’s responsibility.