NATCHEZ, Miss. – City and cruise-ship officials Tuesday finalized their long-negotiated agreements for constructing riverboat docks and rebuilding part of Silver Street as Natchez prepares to better accommodate more touring passengers.
The Natchez Board of Aldermen approved leases with American Cruise Lines and Viking Cruises for them to lease city-owned property on the Mississippi River. The companies at their expense will build separate landings for their riverboats.
Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson joined ACL and Viking executives to sign the leases at a ceremony at the Natchez Bluff Bandstand overlooking the river.
In addition to revenues generated by the leases, the city is getting $500,000 from ACL and Viking to help build an elevated street where the river frequently floods Natchez Under-the-Hill. ACL and Viking are putting up $250,000 each.
With the inclusion of the American Queen Steamboat Co. — which plans to build a third Silver Street dock — riverboats visiting Natchez by autumn 2022 are projected to bring up to 2,000 passengers a week to tour Natchez, according to Gibson.
After a year of no river cruises because of the COVID pandemic, ACL and AQSC resumed their Natchez visits in March. Viking plans to inaugurate its Mississippi River cruises in August 2022.
With the city charging the riverboats a $2-per-passenger docking fee, Natchez could receive up to $4,000 a week in revenues based on maximum passenger counts. This is on top of money generated for Natchez shops and tourism venues that passengers visit.
Viking and American Cruise Lines plan to build their docking facilities 100 feet apart at the end of Silver Street by the boat ramp where the Isle of Capri floating casino was formerly berthed.
American Queen plans to dock its boats by the ramp in front of The Camp restaurant and Under-the-Hill Saloon.
Gibson said the ACL dock will be open to the general public for viewing the river and sunsets but not for fishing.
Dock designs will be reviewed for approval by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Natchez Preservation Commission because of the site’s historic setting.
While more money is needed for the street-raising project, Gibson has expressed confidence all the Natchez Under-the-Hill enhancements will be finished in 2022.
The rebuilt street will be atop a levee-like formation at Silver Street’s lower section where it converges into D.A. Biglane Street leading up to Canal Street. Gibson has said the section would be built up enough to avert the river’s high rises to the record height it reached in 2011. The river has flooded more frequently in recent years to make accessibility difficult for Under-the-Hill businesses and the riverboats.
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