VIDALIA — At least one person was sent to the hospital in four separate wrecks that occurred Friday on or at the foot of the Mississippi River bridge.

Vidalia Police Capt. Craig Godbold said the wrecks are partly due to construction that began this week on a stretch of Carter Street between the bridge and the Walmart.

“It is happening as they come off the bridge into the construction zone,” Godbold said.

Traffic is routed by traffic cones in to one lane toward the Vidalia end of the bridge and once traffic gets to Carter Street the right lane is closed for several hundred feet before the two lanes are reopened.

“People are just not paying attention,”Godbold said.

The construction work is part of a project to repave 2-3/4 miles on a stretch of U.S. 84 in Vidalia known as Carter Street from the foot of the Mississippi River bridge on the Vidalia side to J. Logan Sewell Drive west of Walmart.

The project was announced in August 2018 and work has been delayed a couple of times but began earlier this week as workers placed cones along the highway closing portions of the right hand lanes in both directions.

The first wreck on Friday occurred at approximately noon when traffic slowed down at the foot of the bridge and a car rear-ended another car and a third car rear-ended the second car, Godbold said.

That accident had a passenger transported to a hospital with what were not life-threatening injuries.

The second accident occurred as a result of the first wreck when someone rear-ended another car on the bridge about 20 to 30 cars behind the first wreck, Godbold said.

Meanwhile, traffic was backed up on the bridge into Natchez along John R. Junkin Drive past Canal Street.

The third accident occurred approximately 2:30 p.m., Godbold said and was in the same manner as the first wreck but only two cars were involved and no one was injured.

The fourth wreck occurred approximately 3 p.m. on the Natchez side of the bridge and was worked by the Natchez Police Department, Godbold said, adding no one was injured in that rear-ender.

Godbold advised people to be aware of the construction work going on along the westbound lanes of the bridge and in Vidalia and to pay attention.

“The Vidalia Police Department will be writing citations for following too close,” Godbold said.