Council hears update on 22nd Avenue bridge, MUM mural

Aug. 10—The 22nd Avenue bridge leading from Sela Ward Parkway into the heart of downtown Meridian will see new signs put up after state inspectors ordered a posted weight limit of eight tons.

In a work session Tuesday, Assistant Public Works Director Mike Van Zandt told City Council members the bridge is still safe to use, but the city will want to begin looking at a rehabilitation project in the near future.

A posted weight limit, Van Zandt said, isn't a hard limit. The bridge is not going to collapse if a truck weighing nine, ten or even 20 tons drives across it. Instead, the posted limit is a calculated weight with loads exceeding in causing further damage to the bridge.

"Loads greater than eight tons will continue to diminish the condition of the bridge," he said.

Concerns about the 22nd Avenue bridge came to light during a revitalization project along Sela Ward Parkway. As part of the project, sidewalks were installed along the bridge adding additional weight to the bridge.

Van Zandt said Tuesday concerns the sidewalks had further damaged the bridge had proved to be unfounded. At 65-years-old, he said, the bridge was well beyond its expected lifespan, which for modern building materials is just 50 years, and needed to be repaired.

"It's been diminishing for years," he said.

Gabe Faggard of Neel-Schaffer Engineering, who served as project manager for the Sela Ward Parkway project, previously encouraged the council to move swiftly with repairs to the 22nd Avenue bridge. The bridge, he said, is not in compliance with modern building standards, and should it need to be replaced, the new bridge would likely eliminate access from 22nd Avenue onto Front Street.

Public Works Director David Hodge said the city will next need to get an engineer to help design a repair project for the bridge and find the funding to do the work.

MUM Mural

In other business, the City Council on Tuesday learned more about why a proposed mural at Meridian Underground Music was being held up.

Community Development Director Craig Hitt said the planned mural had been presented to the city's mural commission, which recommended the project be rejected. The mural commission had also reached out to Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which also recommended against the project.

Meridian Underground Music is not a historic building itself, but it is located in a historic district, Hitt said.

Ward 5 Councilwoman Ty Bell Lindsey said she was in favor of allowing the mural regardless of what MDAH recommends.

"I don't really care about the opinion of people who don't even live here," she said.

City Attorney Will Simmons said there does not appear to be a state statute that prevents MUM from having a second mural. The city's ordinance says murals must be approved by the mural commission, and the mural commission is making its decision on best practices and guidelines from MDAH.

The council could vote to change the ordinance, Simmons said, but going against Archives and History can have repercussions later on. Meridian has plenty of buildings designated historic buildings or state landmarks, which Archives and History controls.

"If you ever want to do anything to those buildings, you legally can't do anything until you go back to that board," he said.

Lindsey said she would be in favor of abolishing the mural committee entirely and having the council decide whether or not to approve murals going forward.

Contact Thomas Howard on Twitter @tmhoward