NATCHEZ — After a brief holiday break, the orange barrels will be back on Carter Street in Vidalia next summer.

Beginning in May or June next year, Louisiana Department of Transportation officials plan to repave U.S. 84 from the Mississippi River bridges to J. Logan Sewell Drive west of Walmart in Vidalia.

“Depending on funding, we are planning to let out bids for the project in March,” Assistant District Administrator of Engineering Matt Zeicker said Monday.

If everything works as planned, construction could begin in late May or early June, Zeicker said.

The 2 3/4 mile paving project would hopefully be completed in three to four months, barring weather delays, Zeicker said.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said last week construction crews are finishing up the repainting and replacement of pins on the westbound bridge and soon should be finished with striping and landscaping the entrances to the bridge. The new paving, Craft said, will be a great addition to the bridge work.

“When everything is done, we will have a new main highway going through town,” Craft said. “I am glad they will give us until after Christmas time to start working.”

The work planned for Carter Street does not include any work on Riverside Street.

In April, Vidalia aldermen voted 3-2 to turn down a project proposed by LDOT to add bike lanes, parallel parking zones, speed bumps and other work for the riverside district between the foot of the bridge and the Mississippi River levee.

Despite the temporary inconvenience of construction, Craft said he is excited about what is to come for the city with the addition of Syrah Resources and Vidalia Denim.

“I can’t wait to jump forward a year to a year-and-a-half to see what our town is going to look like,” Craft said. “We are having a lot of people start to kick the tires about opening new businesses,” Craft said. “There are a lot of things going on.”