A Vicksburg contractor has been awarded the contract to repair erosion damage on Farmer Street and Clover Lane.

Acting on the advice of project engineer Neel-Schaffer, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen awarded the job to Central Asphalt, which bid $500,645 to do the project. The company was the lone bidder.

The project will be paid for in part by a $487,354 Natural Resources Conservation grant, which was based on an NCRS total project estimate of $617,406. The grant helps cover 75 percent of the eligible engineering and construction costs.

Farmer Street and Clover Lane were affected by serious erosion problems caused by heavy rains in January and April 2020.

The erosion on Clover Lane involved a slide in a drainage area, while on Farmer Street, a large section of a lot between 1108 and 1114 Farmer St. broke off and cascaded down on a dead-end section of China Street covering a car on China with trees.

Clover Lane and Farmer Street were two of nine projects involving erosion problems that were submitted to the Federal Emergency Management Agency by the city for emergency grant money.

The other areas included Riverfront Park, James E. Sturgis Sr. Street, Crestline Lane (street), Greenhill, a culvert on Crestline Lane and 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.

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