photo by Ben Hillyer

Blake Frees from Terex Utilities South and Natchez Public Works employee Curtis Norman replace the winch on the city bucket truck Monday afternoon at the city garage.

City's failing bucket truck headed back to roads soon

By Mary Hood (Contact) | The Natchez Democrat

Published Tuesday, July 28, 2009

NATCHEZ — The Natchez Traffic Department’s bucket truck should be up and running this week.

During a June board of aldermen work session, Traffic Director Rick Freeman and City Engineer David Gardner requested $21,975 to fix the truck’s extension boom.

Freeman said the damage was discovered while doing routine maintenance on the truck.

“The upper boom, that gives you your height, that’s what gets you up in the air,” Freeman said.

The damage to the boom rendered the truck unusable.

City officials decides the most cost-effective decision was repair.

A new bucket truck, Gardner and Freeman estimated, could cost as much as $160,000.

Both city officials also said they were wary about buying a used truck — which would cost approximately $30,000 — and not know exactly what its condition would be.

The parts were ordered and recently have come in, and Freeman said a technician from Terex Utilities South spent Monday morning fixing the truck.

“They’re hoping to have the new boom on by (today) and have the rest of the work done by late Wednesday or early Thursday,” Freeman said.

In the more than month-long interim of not having a single bucket truck, the city has gotten some much-needed help — for free.

Freeman said Brian Priest from B&B Electric, who has been contracted to work on the continuous flow intersection by the Mississippi Department of Transportation, has been helping the traffic department.

“Brian is from Natchez, and he’s been assisting with getting us bulbs for no charge,” Freeman said.

The city’s bucket truck was bought in 1996 for $70,000, and is used not just by the city, but also by the county and the airport authority.