A Vicksburg company will repair the erosion problem at Riverfront Park.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen Monday awarded the job to Central Asphalt of Vicksburg, which had the lowest of five bids submitted to fix the slide, which was discovered in 2015. The company’s total bid to repair the slide and resurface the park’s three play areas was $324,347.70.

The bid is $24,347.70 over the $300,000 in city/county funds set aside for the project. Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said the city and county will have to split the extra cost. The park is operated and managed jointly by the city and county, which share maintenance and repair costs.

Other bidders on the project included Fordice Construction of Vicksburg with a total bid of $343,862.40; Anderson Construction of Yazoo City, total bid $447,607; Hemphill Construction of Florence, total bid $419,216; and Theobald Construction of Vicksburg, $375,425.

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 county boards have each contributed $150,000 to the project, which was delayed while the Mississippi River level fell 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.

The park contract award was one of three projects the board addressed Monday. The other two included:

• The board took under advisement five bids for drainage work in the Kings community and along North Washington Street.

Submitting bids were Anderson Contracting LLC of Yazoo City, $244,265.02; Theobald Construction of Vicksburg, $347,979.60; Central Asphalt, $282,061.33; Fordice Construction, $293,676.10; A.E. Boyer LLC of Hattiesburg, $342,401.93; and Riverside Construction of Vicksburg, $243,683.50.

The drainage project is designed to clean and clear drainage ditches, canals and underground culverts to improve drainage and eliminate backwater flooding in the Kings area and along North Washington during periods of heavy rain.

“I’m glad to see so many local contractors getting involved and bidding on these local projects,” North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield said. “It’s good to see they’re taking advantage of the opportunities to bid on these projects.

• The board awarded a contract to Acy Mechanical LLC of Winona to replace the Vicksburg Auditorium’s air conditioning and heating system. The auditorium will be closed January and February while the work is done.

Acy was the low bidder on the project with a total bid of $418,186. City accounting director Doug Whittington said the bid is over the project budget, but added the project is being done under a lease purchase agreement for the equipment.