BROOKHAVEN — Lincoln County Engineer Ryan Holmes passed out stacks of bridge reports following the end of the state’s Fiscal Year in July. District 2 Supervisor Keith Lewis had the biggest stack Monday. 

Holmes told the supervisors their stacks of bridge reports may vary from year to year. Inside the reports, he explained there were some bridges highlighted as “bad,” or in need of maintenance. 

“I’m happy to meet with you if you have any questions. Most of you know your bad bridges,” Holmes said. “As each year goes by, you can see the decline of the bridge. We have made a lot of headway with replacing timber bridges and that has made a big difference. Every year, we have to watch these bridges. This is a federal inspection requirement.” 

During bridge inspections, Holmes said workers make sure to take pictures from the same location every year to monitor changes. If significant changes are seen then notes are added to the bridge reports. 

Holmes added if they do see something urgent he will call the supervisor immediately rather than wait for the bridge reports at the end of the year. 

Bridge work update

Holmes had good news for District 4 Supervisor Eli Ferguson. He said crews were making progress on Auburn Road to replace a bridge. 

“They will be forming up the special cap and pouring it,” Holmes said. “After this cap they have one more bent cap to drive and they will be setting spans and completing dirt work.” 

In District 5, Holmes said the contractor R&C Construction, out of Byram, working on the Opelousas Bridge Replacement had done a great job with communicating and getting work done. The bridge being replaced on Opelousas was the last fully timber bridge in District 5 Supervisor Doug Falvey’s district. 

Engineering plans for replacing the Lott Smith bridge just down the hill from Mt. Zion Baptist Church is 90 percent complete. The bridge has some timber components but is not fully timber. A bridge on old US51 is also 90 percent complete in the planning phase. 

Holmes said they are waiting on a right of way before they can move forward with replacing a bridge on Bethel. After work is complete on Lott Smith and old US51, attention will turn to a bridge on Harvey Drive.