VIDALIA, La. — Crews should finish $6.2 million in street, drainage and water plant improvements throughout Vidalia by early fall, Mayor Hyram Copeland said Wednesday.

Diamond B Construction overlaying of streets began in November but has been halted until early spring to wait out winter weather. That project will cost $880,000.

&uot;We’ll have to dig down eight inches in some places, all the way under the pavement,&uot;&160;Copeland said. &uot;And if it rained while you were doing that, you would need a four-wheeler to get out of there.&uot;

Meanwhile, the Vidalia Board of Aldermen is expected to accept bids in February for the drainage part of the project.

That will involve installing culverts in all open ditches along the town’s streets to help prevent flooding in the low-lying area.

And crews from Camo Construction are improving the town’s water plant at a cost of $702,116. Updates to the 30-year-old plant will include installing new filters to more take iron, magnesium and lime out of the water to make the water softer.

Such projects are being paid for by the issuance of bonds. In November, the Board of Aldermen issued $3.4 million in bonds.

And Copeland said the board will probably issue the remaining $2.8 million in bonds for the project in March. Those bonds will be paid back over 18 years with $450,000 a year from a 1-cent sales tax voters passed last summer and $150,000 a year from the town’s own funds.