NATCHEZ — The wooden bridge on Adams County’s rural Deerfield Road was closed Monday after a state inspector found its support pilings had begun to deteriorate.

Adams County Engineer Jim Marlow said the inspector examined the bridge that crossed Sandy Creek as part of an annual inspection of all of the county’s state-aid roads and bridges.

Changes in the creek bed through the years have caused the steel pilings supporting the 75-foot span bridge to rust, warranting the bridge’s immediate closure, Marlow said.

“It would be pretty extensive and expensive to replace the bridge,” he said.

Adams County Road Manager Robbie Dollar said a few residences are affected by the closure, but for the most part the bridge’s use is by hunters looking to enter the Homochitto National Forest and oil industry workers who are checking wells in the area.

“If they are trying to access the national forest side of the bridge, they will have to access it by taking Liberty Road to the old Garden City Road,” Dollar said.

Dollar said that while the bridge is currently blocked off, he hopes the county will get permission to open the bridge temporarily until a permanent fix can be made.

Marlow said the county has previously submitted a program application to get the bridge replaced through public highways funds, but past efforts have not been successful.

“We will continue to seek some kind of path where we can get the bridge either repaired or replaced,” Marlow said.