The Mayor of a Mississippi town says that the $1,000 fine aimed at truckers using a newly repaired bridge “will come in handy” for future repairs around the city.
Temporary repairs on the Canal Street Bridge in Natchez, Mississippi were completed on Tuesday, February 11th. The temporary completion of the project prompted a lifting of the previous 5 ton weight limit, but a ban on commercial vehicles.
“We have been given the all-clear on the Canal Street Bridge, and the posting of the 5-ton weight limit is about to be removed. That means tour buses and emergency vehicles who need to use that bridge can use it,” said Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson. Now, he has issued a warning to truckers about using the bridge: “Don’t do it, or you will face a $1,000 fine.”
The temporary repairs are designed to give the city five years to save up the funds for a permanent bridge replacement, which the mayor says the newly-approved semi truck fines could help to fund, reported The Natchez Democrat.
“This road is not a truck route, but we still have trucks violating that every day. A new no trucks sign will go up,” Gibson said. “We had to spend $660,000 out of our reserves that we did not have budgeted to repair that bridge. We are going to write tickets (to people who drive 18-wheelers over that bridge.) That $1,000 will come in handy. We will put that money back in the reserve account.”