During Monday’s Pearl River County Board of Supervisors meeting, county engineer Les Dungan updated the Board regarding ongoing bridge repair and replacement work.

Dungan said maintenance work is currently underway on six state aid routes in the county. 

Replacement of a large base failure reported on Oak Hill Forge Creek Road has also been completed, Dungan said.

He said work to the bridges on Anchor Lake Road and West Union Road is mostly complete and paving at those sites is expected to begin later this week.

Pavement work of the bridge on Otis Jones Road is complete and asphalt should be installed at that location sometime this week, Dungan said.

Construction of one of two bridges on Silver Run-Progress Road is complete and the bridge will soon be open to traffic.

Dungan said a bid opening for the bridge on Nelly Burks Road is scheduled for April 4. Two more projects, bridges on Harry Sones Road and Sones Chapel Road, are also ready to advertise for bids on May 1.

He said results of the bids will be presented at the next Board meeting.

During the last Board meeting, Dungan said crews have been working on several drainage issues in the county. He said the crews are making progress in the matter.

In other matters, Code Enforcement Officer Kolby Davis requested the Board set a public hearing date for maintenance of private property on Richardson Ozona Road. Davis said the issue is that there is a lot of trash on the property, so much so that it is visible from the road, inviting more people to dump more trash.

“It’s starting to snowball and I’m trying to expedite the cleaning before we get more trash,” Davis said. 

The Board approved setting the public hearing for May 24.

Harold Littles, a member of the Economic Development Council appointed by District 1 Supervisor Donald Hart, was present at Monday’s meeting.

Littles, is retired from Stennis Space Center where he studied the deep sea and shallow bodies of water. He said his job provided him the opportunity to travel and interact with dignitaries, providing him experience in dealing with various people.

He said the formation of the Economic Development Council will provide a great avenue for the county to expand.

“Whatever we do I hope we do it well,” Littles said.

See Wednesday’s Item for more on Monday’s meeting.