NATCHEZ — The city’s Bridge of Sighs project has hit a slight delay, but Natchezians may still be able to see construction start on the replication of the old bridge over Silver Street by the end of the year.

Natchez City Engineer David Gardner said the city is awaiting a memorandum of understanding from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, which is administering the grants the city received for the project.

The memorandum, Gardner said, will be a general agreement between the city and MDOT outlining that MDOT will provide the grant money, the city will provide the grant-matching funds, the city will follow MDOT design standards and other provisions.

Gardner said he was expecting the memorandum three weeks ago and has put the bridge design on hold until the agreement is in place.

A Bridge of Sighs committee of the Natchez-Adams County Community Alliance is working with the city to help design the bridge. Gardner is co-chairman of the Community Alliance.

Gardner said the new prefabricated bridge would closely replicate the old pedestrian bridge at the top of Silver Street. He said it would be made of metal instead of wood, like the old bridge, so it will be sturdier.

The bridge would not only provide a form of aesthetic recreation, but Gardner said it will also allow pedestrians to cross the street without having to get into traffic, which, would add an attraction to the Natchez Trails Project.

The bridge, Gardner, said will cost approximately $200,000, with the city paying a 20-percent cost match of approximately $40,000.

The city received two $100,000 grants for the project, one from the Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks and another under the National Scenic Byways Program from the Federal Highway Administration.

The city, Gardner said, received approval to combine the two grants, which are both from the FHWA, to cut down on paperwork and speed up the project.

Gardner said he had hoped to start construction on the bridge in the fall, but he said with the delay of the memorandum, he now hopes construction will begin by the end of the year.