Repairs to the slide at Riverfront Park are one step closer to getting started.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday authorized city clerk Walter Armstrong to advertise for bids to repair the slide, which was discovered in April 2015.

Public works director Garnet Van Norman said work on the project could begin within 45 days after the notice to bidders is advertised.

Stantec representative Brian Robbins told city and county officials at a joint meeting in August the estimate to repair the slide on the south end of the park is $293,110.

City officials have also asked the county to share the cost of replacing the play area surfaces as well as the slide repair.

The cost of replacing the artificial turf-like surfaces is estimated at $45,000, making the total cost of repairing the slide and replacing the play area surfaces approximately $338,110.

The city and county have each set aside $150,000 for the repairs. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen earlier this year took over the job of administrator for the project.

A section of the bluff on the south end of the park began slowly sliding off the bank in April 2015, taking part of the park’s perimeter fence and walking trail, and threatening one play area, part of which sits on the slide.

The city and Warren County jointly operate the park and share the cost of maintenance and repairs.

Work was delayed while the city and county acquired the money to fix the repairs and waited for the Mississippi River level to drop so the repairs could be made.

To fix the slide, a contractor will have to excavate topsoil along the top bank of the river — a project that will require removing some playground equipment to provide enough room to make the repairs, which involves dirt work and rehabilitating underground drain pipes that were part of the cause of the slide.