The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen have approved a contract with a Jackson contractor to improve Levee Street.

The board Friday authorized Mayor George Flaggs Jr. to sign the contract with Construction Specialists LLC of Jackson, putting the project in motion. A starting date has not been determined.

The board accepted Construction Specialists’ $698,632 bid in August. The bid was the lowest of three submitted on the project, with Fordice Construction of Vicksburg bidding $1,039,943 and Central Asphalt, also from Vicksburg, bidding $843,616.65.

All the bids were more than the project’s $667,500 budget, which consists of $534,000 in Federal Transportation Alternative funds received by the city in December 2018 and a 20-percent match of $133,500 from the city.

Construction Specialists initially bid $700,232, but according to a letter from project engineer Stantec recommending the bid, company officials included one item in the bid twice.

The company’s revised bid was still more than the project budget but City Attorney Nancy Thomas said the city would seek additional money from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, which administers the grant.

“We’re going forward (with the project),” Mayor George Flaggs Jr. said after the bid was accepted.

The Levee Street project involves improving the street’s sidewalks, installing handrails, developing parking for the depot museum in the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad Depot, improved street lighting and bus parking areas along the street for tour buses serving the cruise boats.

The work is part of an overall plan for the area to make the city’s riverfront more attractive to tourists.

The board is also considering a plan to extend Levee Street from its intersection with Dorsey Street in an industrial area in the southern part of the city to WaterView Casino.