County looks to award Murphy Road bridge
May 4—Lauderdale County supervisors are expected to award a project to replace a bridge on Murphy Road in their meeting Monday as county crews gear up for a busy summer of infrastructure projects.
In a work session Thursday, Road and Bridge Coordinator Ryan Mosley said the recommendation to supervisors will be to accept the bid from R&J Construction for a total of $602,598.24.
"I'm excited to have this one," Supervisor Kyle Rutledge said. "Murphy Road gets a lot of traffic."
The county was forced to close the Murphy Road bridge in October 2022 after an inspection found deficiencies requiring the bridge be replaced. Efforts to move the project forward were delayed due to problems acquiring the needed right of way to do the project.
Funding for the project will come from the county's allocation of Local System Bridge Project funds, which are awarded by the state per board term, which is every four years. The project was actually begun and the funds encumbered during the previous term.
Other projects are also underway throughout the county, Mosley said, including: — Richard Johnson Road, where the county is in the process of acquiring the necessary easements needed to do the project. — Sandflat Road, where a preliminary inspection is expected to help guide the county's decision on how to handle a closed bridge. The road department has worked to replace as many bridges as possible with box culverts, which need much less maintenance, and the inspection will help determine if a similar approach can be used in this situation, Mosley said. — Valley Road, where a bridge project is in the design phase. — Dale Drive, where Joe McGee Construction, which replaced a bridge last year, came back Thursday to correct settling of the approaches. — Jimmy Rodgers Parkway, where the county plans to use some of its allocation of American Rescue Plan Act money to run water and sewer lines to help encourage economic development. Mosley said his department has passed some contracts on to the county's legal advisers for review and is waiting to hear back. — Seth Cobb Road, where a bridge project is completed, and the county is waiting for state inspectors to come back and give the structure a load rating. — Wildcat Road, where the crews completing Seth Cobb Road will be headed next. — Lizelia Road, where the second of two bridges being replaced by box culverts is underway. Mosley said the walls of the culvert have been poured, and the top will likely be completed in the next several weeks. — The new road department maintenance barn, where furniture has been moved in and gravel spread in the parking area. The $3 million project is also coming from ARPA dollars. A grand opening date has yet to be set. — Ken Davis Road, which is back open to the public after some bridge work. — Old Highway 80, where the railroad will be shutting down the road from 4-8 a.m. Saturday to replace some ties on the railroad bridge crossing above the highway.
Board Attorney Lee Thaggard said his office is also in the process of title work for a project on Zero Road.
Contact Thomas Howard at thoward@themeridianstar.com
