Two citizens spoke Tuesday night, raising different questions at an informational session about making the roadbed of Warren County’s bridge across the Mississippi River into a pedestrian park and bike path.

The gathering was called at the insistence of District 3 Supervisor Charles Selmon. &#8220I just wanted to give out factual information on the bridge park. I think it’s a good idea,” he said. But turnout was meager – with only one other citizen attending the courthouse session.

Already, supervisors and members of the Vicksburg Bridge Commission have given Jimmy Gouras of Gouras Urban Planning Consultants Inc., endorsements to meet a Monday deadline in filing a grant application with the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

Gouras described the general design to use the two-lane roadbed, closed in 1998 due to deteriorating concrete and not repaired or reopened because width minimums for safety cannot be met.

Dorothy Stewart, who has tracked ideas since the 76-year-old span was closed, took the microphone first and said she agreed with the safety and security questions posed by bridge commission member Tom Hill, who cast the lone nay vote on a resolution supporting the effort.

&#8220I’m speaking for the opinion of all my friends,” she said, adding that plans Gouras mentioned about having music piped through an audio system on the bridge park would be drowned out by the rail traffic.

&#8220Warren County needs the railroad,” Stewart said.

Kansas City Southern trains cross the river on tracks that parallel the roadway, paying a per-car toll that, in turn, pays for bridge maintenance and operations. The railroad is solidly on record against any public access to the roadway and pledged legal action if needed.

Steward also questioned how much room would be allocated to bikers and runners, adding that the future of the annual Over the River Run would be in jeopardy if the pedestrian park became a reality.

According to the grant application, 6 feet of space would be marked for bicyclists in both directions and 4 feet of space would be marked as the pedestrian walk. Four feet on either side are marked as curbing.

The application also mentions special handrails and protective screens to protect against accidents. It recommends spot repairs to the roadway deck of the bridge to allow for limited emergency vehicle access.

Also speaking was Don Neumann, a civil engineer who presented a drawing of pier 2 on the Mississippi side, one that has shown the most movement.

Studies by private firms and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have estimated the cost of repairing the pier at $2 million or more.

Bridge Superintendent Herman Smith said later that Neumann’s figures showing 2 feet of pier movement are accurate, but readings have shown that the pier’s monthly western movements during low Mississippi River stages is offset by its moving back west during high tide.

&#8220There is about a quarter-inch movement each month,” he said.

Results of a long-term use and structural study of the Interstate 20 bridge by engineering consultants Modjeski & Masters that was directed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development is overdue by more than a year, Smith said.

When that study is done, engineers can look at the old bridge and use it to guide what repairs can be made, Smith said.

District 2 Supervisor William Banks, the lone supervisor to vote against the resolution of support, said his &#8220dreadful fear” of accidents fuels his skepticism.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation is seeking $50 million from a $244.1 billion highway enhancement bill passed by Congress and signed by the president in August 2005.

About $2.14 million of the federal money would fund the bridge park portion of the grant, an increase from the $1.6 million that was to fund a previous plan in 1999. That idea was abandoned due to lack of support.

Bridge commissioners have said a $427,000 local match would come from bridge funds.

Ideas about the future of the bridge have been bounced around for a decade with multiple shifts in opinion and no clarity in direction. Supervisors had voted to sell the crossing to KCS, but changed their minds due to a public outcry. In the only public referendum, citizens favored opening the roadbed to local traffic, but officials have said that cannot be done, leaving the status quo or creating a park the only options.

The bridge was privately built by an investment group and purchased as a public asset in 1947. Since then, supervisors have named commissioners to manage its day-to-day use, including maintenance and structural repairs. The money comes from tolls paid by KCS and utilities that have lines crossing the river on the bridge.

In other business, supervisors: