A bridge replacement project on Dale Drive is expected to begin later this month after state officials signed off on a paired down version of the plan.

Lauderdale County was awarded $1.1 million in state funding through the Emergency Road and Bridge Repair program to replace the dilapidated bridge, which is in desperate need of attention. The plan included widening both the bridge and the road, from the intersection of Lindley Road and Dale Drive to the bridge, to three lanes.

A bid alternate was also included to reconfigure the intersection from a four-way stop into a roundabout.

County supervisors, however, were forced to ask the Mississippi Department of Transportation for permission to cut some items from the plan after the sole bid, from Joe McGee Construction, came in $1.7 million, more than $600,000 over budget.

The bid price did not include the cost of the roundabout, which was estimated at around $250,000.

In a work session Thursday, Lauderdale County Road Manager Rush Mayatt said MDOT had approved the county’s request, and work was ready to proceed.

The paired down version of the plan eliminates the roundabout alternate and the road widening, Mayatt said, but still includes replacing the bridge and widening it to three lanes. The price for the new plan came in at $1.3 million, he said.

“Time is of the essence, but I don’t think you’ll get a lower number,” he said.

From a safety standpoint, Mayatt said the bridge has to be the county’s first priority. The three-lane road and roundabout are nice to have, and would likely be a great benefit to the community, he said, but the bridge is getting to the point where it is dangerous and must be replaced.

Although it would have been convenient to get the road and roundabout knocked out at the same time as the bridge, the two projects can always be done at a later time, he said.

Even after cutting down the project, the $1.3 million price tag is still about $200,000 over what the county is set to receive from the ERBR program. Mayatt said the county will need to find that money to complete the project.

Supervisors agreed the easiest source of funding would be the county’s allocation of American Rescue Plan Act dollars, which have previously been earmarked for bridge projects on other county roads. Additional funding will be available for those projects beginning in January, so some of that money can be redirected without sacrificing a project.

On Monday, Mayatt said he hoped to issue a notice to proceed by the end of the week. That should put the contractor on site by the end of the month, he said.

Dale Drive sees a lot of traffic, and the bridge is estimated to have more than 12,000 vehicles cross it each day. Mayatt said he planned to wait until crews were on site to shut down the bridge to minimize the disruption, but the project is going to be an inconvenience no matter what.

Once work begins, Mayatt said he hoped to be able to reopen the bridge sometime in November.