NATCHEZ — The Mississippi River Bridge’s lighting systems will soon be under repair to address lighting and electrical issues that require constant attention, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation officials.

The bridge features navigation, aviation and decorative lighting systems. All three will be upgraded as part of the maintenance project to increase the safety of the bridge, officials said.

MDOT District Seven Engineer Albert White said the initial work will be to replace the navigation and aviation lights, since they are used for safety purposes, then decorative lighting will be addressed.

“The navigation and aviation lighting systems are outdated, need constant maintenance, and replacement parts have become difficult to locate,” White said in a press release. He was unavailable for further comment Friday. “For these reasons, the decision was made to replace the entire navigation and aviation systems. The decorative system is facing electrical issues, which will also be resolved.”

Janet Sullivan, special projects coordinator for MDOT’s Southern District, said the bridge lighting needs to be upgraded in order to ensure people can enjoy the $3 million project for a long time.

“Frankly, there has been no one over here to maintain the lights,” she said. “A lot of people don’t want to get on that bridge.”

Southern District Transportation Commissioner Tom King said the goal is to make the bridge lighting a permanent and sustainable project. King said the new lights will be a better grade than the current lights so they will last longer.

“We don’t want to have to come out every two weeks and do repair work, so the hope is that (the new lights) will last longer and be more permanent,” King said.

MDOT is currently collecting estimates from contractors, and work on the project is expected to begin in three to five weeks.

The $3 million lighting project, which was completed in April 2010, was a joint effort between MDOT, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the City of Vidalia.