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NATCHEZ — City of Natchez officials and Natchez Public Works crew gathered Friday afternoon at the Canal Street bridge to celebrate its repair and the removal of a 5-ton weight limit that has been posted there for over a year.

Mayor Dan Gibson said it is a milestone worth celebrating, as city tour buses, cruise ship buses, emergency vehicles and delivery workers will now be able to use the bridge once again. However, the removal of the sign comes with a warning for 18-wheeler drivers who will not be allowed to use the bridge.

A $1,000 fine will be imposed on any that violate this rule, which is necessary to protect its longevity until the bridge can be totally replaced, Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said.

“We will be constantly patrolling this bridge to make sure that 18-wheelers do not violate this ‘no truck’ zone. We have to make sure that our bridge lasts for the amount of time that we need it to last before we can fully replace it,” Green said. “We will be strictly patrolling this area so if you’re an 18-wheeler driver, you’re going to need to take one of the alternate routes into and out of downtown.”

Gibson said people don’t realize just how close it came to the bridge being closed altogether. It took expedient work of a team of engineers to ensure that the bridge could remain open after the office of state aid had ordered it to be closed days before Christmas of 2023, he said.

It was like an early Christmas present to the city that they could leave the bridge open to a limited capacity, he said.

“If we had closed this bridge, as we were asked to do, it would have crippled our city for the past year. But thanks to some very reasonable individuals and some help from various places, the engineers were able to reexamine the report and allow the bridge to remain open for 5-ton traffic,” Gibson said. “Then we had to get our heads together and come up with $660,000 in unbudgeted funds out of our surplus to repair this bridge. Well that repair is now complete and we can get back to normal — except for 18-wheelers.”