The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen will be going back out for bids to repair four erosion problems in the city.

On the advice of project engineer Stantec, the board Friday rejected the bids from Foster Associates LLC of Ackerman and Fordice Construction of Vicksburg to repair the four sites and will re-advertise the project.

The projects were initially funded through a $560,571.65 Natural Resources Conservation Service grant, with NRCS contributing $430,206.15 and the city providing a $130,365.50 match.

Foster and Associates bid $799,318 while Fordice Construction bid $774,866 to repair the four sites: an erosion problem on Second North Street; an erosion and slide area along a drainage ditch behind homes along Columbia Avenue; a washout area at Halls Ferry Road and Lane Street and erosion on Polk Street near a house.

“The bids outweighed the amount we had for funding from NCRS,” City Attorney Kim Nailor said.

She said the city has received an additional $537,325.80 from NRCS, giving the city about $1.09 million for the project. Nailor also said Stantec recommended rejecting the bids and re-advertising the project in the wake of receiving the extra money.

The NRCS-funded sites are part of a group of 13 areas in Vicksburg affected when strong rains hit the area in January and April 2020.

The other areas include Riverfront Park, James E. Sturgis Sr. Street, Crestline Lane (street), Greenhill, a culvert on Crestline Lane, a culvert near the intersection of Iowa Boulevard and U.S. 61 South near McDonald’s and the City Park project to replace a damaged walking trail and replace fencing. These areas will be repaired using emergency funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

When FEMA did not approve Clover Lane and Farmer Street for emergency funds, city officials applied for and received NRCS funds.

The board in February approved taking a $4 million short-term loan to begin repairs at some of the slide areas while waiting on the federal money. The loan will be repaid with federal funds.