NATCHEZ — As residents of the Miss-Lou hit the highways and waterways to celebrate July 4, local law enforcement will have a strong presence.

“If you’re traveling around during the Fourth weekend you will most likely see a road block or a deputy stopping someone,” Adams County Sheriff Ronny Brown said. “The reason we’re doing it is to save lives.”

The Adams County Sheriff’s Office will have road blocks set up along the major county roads like Liberty Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Road and will have all available officers on patrol.”

The Natchez Police Department will also have all extra officers on the road, but will not have more road blocks until Sunday.

“We’re looking for any violations — seat belt, child restraint, driving under suspension, expired tags,” Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins said.

However, both Brown and Mullins said that they do not expect to see an increase in drunk driving over July 4 weekend because people know that police will be out in force.

“Normally people are aware that we’re out so we don’t have an extraordinary number of DUI arrest compared to other times,” Mullins said.

Concordia Parish authorities will also be on the look out, especially along the area lakes, Sheriff Randy Maxwell said. The Lake St. John Flotilla and the Blessing of the Fleet are planned for Saturday and are expected to add to the July 4 lake traffic.

“We’re cautioning everyone to be safe on both the highways and the lakes this weekend,” Maxwell said. “One accident is too many. There’ll be people driving, boating and swimming all weekend so we all have to watch out for one another and remember that the top safety hazards are speed and alcohol — whether it’s involving a boat, car or truck.”