NATCHEZ, Miss. — Work could begin this summer for rebuilding a part of Silver Street to curb it from Mississippi River floods.
Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said last week construction could take about three months to elevate the street’s lower level at the foot of the bluffside thoroughfare known as Natchez Under-the-Hill.
The project is being funded with about $2 million from state and federal sources along with $500,000 from cruise companies that dock in Natchez, The Board of Aldermen last Thursday voted to get construction engineers to submit proposals and costs for city officials to review as they continue planning the street-raising work that’s been on the drawing board since 2020.
Gibson said the planning and design phase should be “proceeding very quickly now” with hopes street builders can be contracted so construction can start by mid-summer. He noted he’ll be meeting with the restaurant, bar and shop operators lining the riverside corridor that will be impacted by the street construction project.
The work will be concentrated on raising the end of Silver Street where the thoroughfare meets D.A. Biglane Street leading up to Canal Street. Plans call for that section being built several feet up to avert the river’s periodic high rises. The river has flooded more frequently in recent years to make accessibility difficult for Natchez Under-the-Hill businesses and riverboats.
The street-raising project is being funded partly by a $1 million grant awarded last year by the state Department of Environmental Quality. Also being used is $1 million allocated to Natchez by the American Rescue Plan Act enacted by the U.S. Congress in 2021. In addition, $500,000 has been committed by Viking and American Cruise Lines for accommodating their riverboats that dock here and use Silver Street for busing their passengers to tour Natchez.
ACL has been planning to put in a boat ramp to replace the old launch that’s at the end of Silver Street now. Viking has plans to build a separate docking pier nearby.
Plans for the Silver Street project have entailed improving capacity and accessibility for the riverboats and their passengers along with putting in new sidewalks, lighting, walls and fencing.
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