The repair of roads and damage from previous flooding along with updates to plans for additional work were discussed during Monday’s Pearl River County Board of Supervisors meeting.

Les Dungan with Dungan Engineering said that the temporary detour for Shenandoah Road, near Poplarville, is complete and ready for use while the bridge is replaced. The detour was needed because the work is taking place along a dead end road.

Three projects being completed under the Emergency Watershed Protection program are also complete. Dungan said the three sites included one on Derby Whitesand Road, South Hayes Street in Poplarville and Bradley Road. The repair work for all three sites totaled about $69,500.

Dungan said that he and some county officials plan to make a trip to Jackson on Monday to meet with representatives of the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Corps of Engineers to discuss issues with the flow at the weir in Walkiah Bluff and what can be done to rectify them.

On April 30, Dungan said he plans to open bids for two projects, the replacement of a bridge on Lakeside Drive in the Anchor Lake subdivision and another for a bridge project on Silver Run Road near Poplarville. When work begins in the Anchor Lake subdivision, Dungan said an alternate exit will need to be constructed so residents who enter near the spillway will have a route of egress when it is inundated with water. He expects construction of those projects to begin sometime in August.

In other business, the Board approved a motion to authorize Pearl River County Emergency Operations Director Danny Manley to purchase a tanker/pumper truck for the South East Volunteer Fire Department utilizing grant funding. Manley said the cost of the truck is $288,750.

During discussion to consider accepting a private drive at Hayes Road and making it a county road, District III Supervisor Hudson Holliday expressed concern since the road is not up to county specifications. Hudson said the dirt road needs a lot of work, and the county has 400 miles of paved roads to maintain.

District II Supervisor Malcolm Perry also expressed concern based on that fact.

President Sandy Kane Smith suggested that someone from the Board could look at the road to determine if it is up to specifications or not, and if it is not, advise the owner what needs to be done before the Board will consider accepting the road. No official action was taken on the matter.

In relation to a request to install a four-way stop sign at the intersection of Pea Ridge Road and Ozona Road, the Board ultimately decided to install traffic monitoring devices at that intersection to determine if that area meets the criteria for a four-way stop.

The next Board meeting will be April 17 at 9 a.m. in the courthouse on Julia Street.