NATCHEZ — Orange caution barrels can be found dotting downtown roads, and while some have been stationed for months and others recently placed, they will be removed soon.

Public Works Director Eric Smith said at least two of them — the recently removed barrel at Orleans and Union streets and the one on South Pearl and Franklin streets — were covering manholes.

The rings and lids of the manholes had begun to wear out over time, and Smith said he’s replacing them.

He said he’s already ordered the parts and once he gets them, the replacement won’t take long, approximately three days.

“It’s nothing hard,” Smith said.

Two barrels had been placed on Jefferson Street as well.

Smith said the culvert, or pipe in the ground, had broken.

“Once the culvert breaks and the water continues to go through the inlet, the water has to find somewhere to go,” he said.

With water rushing underground and not under control, it causes erosion under the asphalt.

To correct this, Smith said public works had to cut out a 3-foot by 4-foot block of asphalt to fix the pipe.

After it was fixed, he said workers replaced the asphalt. The entire process only took a few hours.

With public works fixing things that need immediate attention and also furiously cleaning up debris, one project has been put on the back-burner until things normalize.

The widening of Marblestone Alley began the first of August and was moving forward, reaching 45 percent completion, until heavy rains and hurricanes caused work to halt.

The 30-foot-wide, 400-foot-long road is being constructed to give drivers a wider berth from the edge of the road, which has begun to erode at the edge, leading into a 30-foot drop off.

Smith said work should resume on Marblestone once work in the city calms down.