NATCHEZ, Miss. — The city’s congressional lobbyist said legislation is “in the hopper” for the U.S. Congress to give Natchez about $2.4 million to rebuild the Canal Street bridge. Noting “it’s not a done deal yet,” Gregg Harper said the allocation still has more steps to take before the House and Senate send it to the president for his approval.
The mid-1900s bridge is deteriorating and projected to have only about four years left of life.
While Congress and the Mississippi Legislature earlier this year provided Natchez $2.5 million to replace the bridge, about $3.3 million more is needed, according to estimates provided to city officials. The old bridge is near the Natchez visitors center on Canal Street, a key transportation artery for the city.
Meeting Tuesday with Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson and Board of Aldermen, Harper expressed hope Congress will provide the additional dollars.
A former U.S. congressman who represented Natchez for 10 years, Harper has been the city’s hired legislative lobbyist since leaving the House in 2019. He’s helped the city get funds from both Congress and the state Legislature. That includes the $2 million Congress appropriated in February and the $500,000 the Legislature earmarked in April for the Canal Street bridge. “I think there’s more to come,” Harper said Tuesday.
Repairs to the old bridge a year ago restored its capacity for buses and fire trucks, but Natchez officials continue to ban 18-wheelers from the span. All large vehicles were prohibited from crossing the much-traveled bridge in December 2023, when inspectors discovered corroded undergirdings that rendered it unsafe for heavy weight.
“The bridge is expected to last another four years while we raise remaining funds, “ Gibson said in April.
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