Supervisors Award $16.24 Million Bid For New Bridge
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Over two years have passed since the Gums Crossing bridge was closed in early 2019. Multiple spans of the bridge have crumbled into the lake since then.
GUMS CROSSING – The Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors awarded a $16.24 million bid to replace the Gums Crossing Bridge on County Road 221. The bid was awarded to Malouf Construction during a special meeting Friday morning in Coffeeville and construction on the two-year project is expected to start in April.
The project is the largest ever awarded by the Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors. At just under a half-mile long, the bridge spans the backwaters of Grenada Lake including Skuna River and is the longest in the county.
Initial estimates for the demolition and replacement of the bridge ranged from $10 to $12 million and only one other bid was submitted to the county, a $21.16 million bid from W.G. Yates and Sons Construction.
“Nobody really wants to touch it because of where it is at. Because you are dealing with the U.S. Corps of Engineers,” District 5 Gaylon Gray noted about the water fluctuation in the lake. The bridge is located in his district and he is among hundreds of residents who are forced to detour 30 miles or more, one way, to get to Coffeeville or other areas of Yalobusha County. The closure also effects school bus routes and postal service delivery, as well as response for medical, fire and law enforcement calls.
Gray’s comments followed scrutiny of the low bid, which includes almost one-quarter of the bid price, $4 million, allocated for a temporary access road that will be adjacent to the new bridge and utilized during the construction.
“Either we do it now, or there will never be a bridge built across that river,” Gray added.
“It will only go up,” County Engineer Carl Grubb agreed about the escalating cost of materials.
“Guys we had two bidders at table today and they were that far apart,” Board President Cayce Washington noted about the $5 million difference in bids. “If we rebid, it may be closer to that $20 million mark,” Washington added about putting the project back out for bids.
“They estimated $10 million two years ago and it has almost doubled. Prices are going up,” Gray added.
“Let’s get this done,” said District 4 Supervisor Eddie Harris as the discussion then shifted to funding options.
Revenue Sources
The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration has committed to fund 80 percent of the cost, which leaves just under $3.5 million. Of that amount, a million dollars will come from state bond money appropriated during the 2020 legislative session, leaving $2.5 million needed from the county’s coffers.
Supervisors have already applied for a $680,000 loan, the most the county can borrow without issuing bonds, which leaves approximately $1,820,000 needed from existing county funds. Much of the discussion in Friday’s meeting and in subsequent meeting Monday centered on where this money would come from.
“If everybody will give a little when we pass the offering plate, we might get by this,” Gray added as the options were discussed:
• State Aid Money – The county will receive $1.7 million in state aid funding, money that flows from the Mississippi Department of Transportation and is allocated for bridges and roads in the county. The $1.7 million allocation is for the four-year term supervisors are currently serving, from 2020 to 2023, and is typically used for different projects across the county. Supervisors have discussed using a portion of this money for Gums Crossing bridge.
• TCE Lawsuit Money – The county received a $3 million settlement as part of an environmental lawsuit filed jointly by the county and Yalobusha General Hospital. The money was awarded for environmental damages to hospital property from a contaminate, TCE, that was released into the environment from 1973 to 1987 by the Holley Automotive Division of Colt Industries. With just under $2.5 million remaining in the fund, supervisors have discussed using $500,000 for the bridge.
• District 5 Bridge Fund – The District 5 bridge fund, which is generated from the annual tax levy, will kick in $200,000 for the project.
“Whatever I have to do,” Gray noted about utilizing this fund, which is also used to pay a portion of labor and material costs in his district.
• Industrial Maintenance Fund – The county has approximately $600,000 in this fund, money that is generated from the sale of water to Ajinomoto Foods from the county-owned water system. Supervisors are contemplating utilizing $200,000 from this fund.
• 911 Fund – The county also has a surplus in this fund that has grown to almost a half million dollars, Discussion has included the legalities of using a portion of this surplus for the bridge.
• Use Tax – The county receives a portion of sales tax collected from internet sales that can be used for roads and bridges. 2021 marks the second year the county has received this money, which is divided among the five districts. Washington noted that this revenue source has exceeded initial estimates, and could be as much as a million dollars annually by 2023.
Using a portion of this as a funding source is another option for the bridge project.
