[05/21/02]At least one lane of the bridge that divides Monroe and Drummond streets will remain closed for the rest of the week as work continues under the span.

City workers began last week investigating the cause of erosion below the south end of the bridge. James “Bubba” Rainer, head of the city’s public works division, said that water damage has caused a 6-foot hole to form under concrete over the slope below the bridge, but is not affecting the piers supporting the structure.

“The bridge is nowhere near being in jeopardy,” Rainer said.

The road had to be closed after workers discovered that the water causing the hole under the bridge was trickling through a path under the roadway. In order to stop the flow of water, a 4-foot-deep trench had to be dug out under the asphalt, resulting in the closing of the road, Rainer said.

Through that hole, city crews are injecting a fill, a lightweight concrete, that will flow into the areas eroded by the water and harden. Work was delayed Friday after heavy rains swept through the city.

“We just about had it plugged up when we got that big rain,” Rainer said.

He said the work is expected to be finished this week and will cost less than $10,000.

About 4,000 vehicles use the bridge between Monroe and Drummond streets each day, according to a traffic count by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

The bridge provides access over Kansas City Southern Railway tracks that have traversed the city since 1836 when railcars were still pulled by horses and mules.