Attala County officials continue to be frustrated by the process employed by the federal government in inspecting and closing Attala County bridges.
Federal officials on August 15 ordered the Redden Branch bridge (#3231) in Carmack closed, insisting that the 30-foot bridge is insufficient to bear its own weight, about 32,000 pounds.
Supervisor Steven Goss, however, said he is certain the bridge is capable of bearing about 130,000 pounds of weight, the equivalent of two full dump trucks.
“They are not being fair about the ratings on these bridges,” said Goss, the supervisor for the area. “If they continue to poorly rate these bridges, it will put our county in a bind. There is no way we can afford to replace all these bridges.”
Part of the frustration is with the lack of information federal inspectors provide regarding the inspections and lack of detailed reasons for any closures that occur.
Many of the county bridges were inspected a few months ago and left open, but data was brought back by inspectors to be evaluated by structural engineers, leading to unexpected closure notifications being received more recently.
One bridge in Supervisor Kary Ellington’s district has been repaired for weeks, but cannot be reopened until he is notified that it has been approved by federal officials. Even the re-inspection has already been done, he said.
County Engineer Christian Gardner said that for future inspections, local officials will be able to be present during the inspections, hopefully leading to a dialog and better information regarding the evaluation.
