By Catherine Boone

NATCHEZ — By the end of summer, the historic Natchez colonnades should once again be ready to assume the role of welcome mat.

Construction crews began preparations this week to renovate the structure, which was built in 1940 as a part of the tollbooth that welcomed drivers to Natchez.

The colonnades are now located near the Natchez Visitor Reception Center on Canal Street.

Live Oak Construction is handling the $1,158,000 project, slated for completion on July 29.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Mississippi Development Authority and the City of Natchez are funding the project.

The first stage of the project is to erect shoring and scaffolding in between existing columns to support the wooden architrave, which is the horizontal beam that rests upon the columns.

The shoring and scaffolding will allow construction workers to replace rotten wood in the architrave and remove the original columns.

Steel columns surrounded by new wood will then be used to replace the original columns.

“(This allows us to put) a more durable material (in the columns) that will last forever,” Project Manager Sam Mohon said.After the new columns are finished, steel will be the structural item and wood will be the decorative item, Mohon said.The second stage of the project is to replace missing bricks and the mortar in between them so the structure does not leak and will have a clean finish. The brickwork is set to start in one week and will be simultaneous with the woodwork, he said.

Other facets of the project include painting the new columns and replacing the electrical filters on the brass lanterns.

Traffic on Canal Street near the visitors’ center will not be affected by the project, City Engineer David Gardner and Mohon said.

The project is the first effort to restore the colonnades with a substantial amount of money, Gardner said. Some replacement of rotten wood at the base of the structure where the columns meet the brick was completed in the 1990s, but the budget for that restoration was only approximately $30,000.

“We’re excited about getting this project under way,” Gardner said. “Hopefully (the colonnades) will last for many more years.”

The colonnade, which was officially approved as a Mississippi Landmark in 2012, was erected in 1940 as part of the construction of the original Mississippi River Bridge. A tollbooth, at which drivers paid 10 cents to enter Louisiana or Mississippi, sat between the colonnades.