A lawsuit that has delayed repairs to the pedestrian bridge at The Riverwalk has been settled for just north of $4 million.
The city council voted Tuesday morning during a special-call meeting to accept a settlement in the suit, drawing to a close litigation that began in March 2021.
According to federal court documents, a tow boat owned by Cooper Marine and Timberlands, based in Mobile, Alabama, was pushing eight barges south on the Tenn-Tom Waterway on Feb. 6, 2020, when the boat and its loaded barges grounded near the channel opening to the Old Tombigbee River near Columbus. A boat owned by Max Marine came to aid the grounded vessel and, in the process, a loaded barge broke loose, drifted down the channel and struck the pedestrian bridge’s eastern support pier.
The city filed claims seeking damages from both companies for negligence.
City Attorney Jeff Turnage said the city received $4,215,097 in the settlement, which should fully cover the cost of repairs.
Turnage said he was pleased with the outcome.
“It’s pretty rare to get a settlement for the whole amount,” he said.
The council unanimously approved contracting with Malouf Construction to do the repairs. Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene moved to declare an emergency so that work could begin immediately and without going through the usual bid process, with a second by Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco. That motion also passed unanimously.
Turnage told The Dispatch after the meeting there wasn’t a firm date for repair work to begin, but the city hopes it would “start soon.”
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History has already approved the city’s preliminary plans, Turnage said.
“I don’t think there will be any other issue there,” he said. “It will be built back to look just like it does now.”
The bridge, completed in 1927, is included on the National Register of Historic Places, meaning MDAH must approve any repairs or renovations.
Turnage said he wasn’t sure if Riverside Park would be closed, but that Malouf “would occupy a pretty big part of (it) and have some floating equipment in the channel. It’ll be crowded down there for a while.”
The work is estimated to take six months to a year, he said.
While the votes were taken in open session, the discussion about the settlement took place in executive session. Applause was clearly audible in the hallway outside when news of the settlement was announced.
Vice Mayor Joseph Mickens addressed the applause after the council returned to open session to vote.
“I know you guys heard us clapping out there,” Mickens told the audience. “We were clapping because of the city attorney we have here and the hard work that he put in.”
“The work will be done at no cost to the taxpayers,” said Mayor Keith Gaskin.
Attorneys for Cooper Marine and Max Marine did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Public works employees fired
Also while in executive session, Turnage said the council voted unanimously to terminate public works employees who allegedly stole gas from a city-owned fuel dispensing station.
Police Chief Joseph Daughtry said at the time that the suspects allegedly stole the fuel by using an identification number from a city vehicle. The fuel was put in a private vehicle.
Michael Kennedy Williams, 19, Deountray Roby, 22, and Kendrick Walker, 43, were all arrested. Roby and Walker were Public Works employees, and were put on paid administrative leave after their arrest.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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