It is apparent by the recent quotes made by city officials in the Vicksburg Post, that the Fisher Ferry land owned by the city is the choice location to build the much talked about sports complex if access can be gained through Highway 61 South.
Access through Highway 61 South has been and still remains a major problem with this property because the whole area, including part of the Fisher Ferry site itself, lies in a flood plain.
When Joe Loviza was mayor, the taxpayers of Vicksburg paid $160,000 to an engineering firm in Jackson, for a study to determine whether or not such a road could be built, the effect of said road on flooding and how it would need to be built. The result of the study was that building access would be cost prohibitive because any access built would have to be elevated on stilts or pylons, essentially a bridge, in order to prevent more flooding to residents of Hamilton Heights, Marion Park and the surrounding areas. A road just mounded up would cause even more flooding to the area.
The taxpayers of Vicksburg in recent months spent $28,000 on another study with a different engineering firm to study this question of access yet again. The access, if built correctly, would cost more than the projected sports complex itself and would still not prevent the site itself from flooding when it rains. Now we learn that yet a third study is going to be ordered according to an article in The Post.
The problem is that Hatcher Bayou floods that entire bottom area all the way to Highway 61 South and beyond …. all the way to the Mississippi River into which it flows. The U.S. government has said no houses could be built in parts of Hamilton Heights because of the flooding from Hatcher Bayou. If the U.S. government can figure out that this area is not suited for building, I feel certain that our local officials can come to the same conclusion and not throw more good money after bad.
Kemper B. Ehrhardt
Vicksburg