Kings Point Ferry bid rejected

Published 10:35 am Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Warren County supervisors will try again to find a company for a proposed Kings Point Ferry maintenance project.

The supervisors Monday rejected a single bid to repair and paint the ferry because it was not signed by the bidder, Board President Richard George said. He said the board will re-advertise.

“We have gone through this (bidding) about six or seven times,” County Administrator John Smith said of the project.

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The board has $252,000 for the project — $216,900 of that is federal and state funds. The work includes push boat engine assemblies, gearbox engine assemblies, propeller assemblies, sandblasting and painting.

Warren County must maintain the ferry, which has provided the only access to the Kings Point area since construction of the Yazoo Diversion Canal in 1903 cut it off from the mainland of Warren County. The island is made up mostly of hunting camps and timber farming. The ferry runs daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. carrying hunters and workers across the canal.

Monday’s bid was the first since the supervisors in June rejected a project bid of $486,075 by Big River Ship Builders.

The present boat was purchased for about $600,000 in June 2005. A new motor financed with federal highway money was to be installed in 2015. The ferry was damaged in February 2006 when a ramp on the ferry broke away and sank in the canal when the vessel pulled away from Kings Point island after dropping off a vehicle.

 

About John Surratt

John Surratt is a graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in general studies. He has worked as an editor, reporter and photographer for newspapers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. He has been a member of The Vicksburg Post staff since 2011 and covers city government. He and his wife attend St. Paul Catholic Church and he is a member of the Port City Kiwanis Club.

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