By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Gov. Phil Bryant is ordering the Mississippi Department of Transportation to close 83 locally maintained bridges that are in bad shape and could be dangerous to the public.
Bryant gave the order Tuesday, five days after the U.S. Department of Transportation sent him a letter saying Mississippi’s bridge-inspection program was not meeting federal standards.
The bridges Bryant ordered closed are in 16 counties: Amite, Carroll, Clarke, Greene, Hinds, Humphreys, Itawamba, Jasper, Jones, Lauderdale, Leake, Lincoln, Newton, Pike, Smith and Wayne.
The order comes about two weeks after Mississippi legislators ended their nearly three-month session without agreeing on a long-term plan to put more money into improving highways and bridges.
Some lawmakers have said they expect Bryant to call a special session at some point to deal with a transportation plan.
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