Start dates are emerging for a pair of federally funded projects to shore up LeTourneau Road after the spring’s Mississippi River flood.

Fortifying slopes on the raised industrial access road should begin shortly after Jan. 1 and end in March, Rhea Fuller of ABMB Engineers Inc. told Warren County supervisors Thursday.

Bids are expected to be taken Dec. 8.

Funding is in place for rebuilding about an eighth of a mile of roadway in the eastbound lane, Board President Richard George said, but would likely begin after the supporting soil is stabilized.

A gravel surface has covered the segment that washed out under near-record stages in May, closing the road to traffic for about a month. Most affected was traffic heading to and from LeTourneau Technologies and Martin Marietta Aggregates.

Along with eight additional sites in north Warren County, the anti-erosion project composes a $2.1 million package of approved items submitted to the Natural Resource Conservation Service, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Mandated local matching funds from the county will equal about $300,000, plus engineering costs.

While no grant program was established for flood-affected areas, applications for $1.5 million in Katrina Supplemental Community Development Block Grant funds are pending with the Mississippi Development Authority for the resurfacing and reconstruction.

This month, the county agreed to pay $20,000 to the Yokena-Jeff Davis Water District to move a water line that bisects the roadway to speed up the projects. Officials indicated it should not obstruct work crews.

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Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com.

On the agenda

* Authorized a legal notice on the site change for the Oak Ridge voting precinct.

Bradley’s Chapel United Methodist Church Community Center, 11031 Oak Ridge Road, will house voting for about 200 registered in the northeast Warren County community.

* Took two bids under advisement on a crawler excavator in the Road Department.

One was a $154,744 offer from Stribling Equipment. Another was a $159,032 offer from Puckett Machinery.

* Accepted the resignation of Joel Longwood from the Information Technology Department and approved advertising for a replacement.

* Approved a one-year, $3,300 Web site design agreement with Landtech.

* Approved advertisement for administrative services for the county’s participation in the 2008 HOME program, geared toward housing for low-income wage earners.

* Approved a $315.40 payment to James R. Sherard for legal services associated with the Anderson Tully Access Road block grant.