NATCHEZ — The Adams County Board of Supervisors declared the impending collapse of Triplett Lane an emergency situation Friday and will forego the normal construction bid process to repair the road as soon as possible.

County Engineer Jim Marlow said the drainage structure under the road failed during a series of heavy rains in March, which in turn caused one lane of the road to collapse.

Attorney Jeremy Diamond said that because of the emergency situation, the board does not by law have to get multiple bids or approve the contract at a meeting. Diamond served as legal counsel for the board at the meeting because County Attorney Scott Slover is out of town.

Diamond said the supervisors could authorize Marlow to enter into a contract and then spread it across the minutes at its next meeting.

Marlow said he was going to get a couple of bids in an effort to save the county money since it will be paying some of the costs. He said he would try to get the proposals ready for the supervisors by their meeting on Wednesday.

Construction, Marlow said, should only take two or three weeks, but he said it could take some time for the contractor to get the project materials.

Supervisor Calvin Butler, in whose district Triplett Lane is located, has said the continued collapse of the road has resulted in single-lane traffic on the road that provides access to the Kenny Graves Apartments.

The county was already planning to address the issue — it had gotten Emergency Watershed Protection project funds for the site earlier this year — but the situation has gotten to where it needs to be addressed immediately, Butler said.

There are also water and gas lines in the area of the drain failure, and the county will have to have ground around the failure excavated, the 60-inch pipe removed and a new cross drain and some side drains installed before the area can be backfilled and repaved, Marlow said.

Supervisors President Darryl Grennell said at the meeting because of the safety concerns, the threat of losing the road and utilities and only one way in and out of the apartments, the county needed to act fast.

While the work is being completed, Butler said a fence between the Kenny Graves apartments and the Village Green apartments will be taken down, and a temporary road will be constructed to allow residents access to the area.

Supervisor Mike Lazarus asked Marlow not to let the contractors drag around on getting bids in and materials in place.

Preliminary estimates for the project, Marlow said, are approximately $50,000 to $75,000. NRCS will pay 85 percent of the project, and the county will pick up 15 percent and some extra costs, Marlow said.

Marlow said the county will be able to finalize the price and the timeline of getting materials once the contractors submit bids.

In other news from the meeting:

• Supervisor David Carter said he and Adams County Chancery Clerk Tommy O’Beirne talked to the state about the process for getting the latest list of tax forfeited properties back on the tax roll.

Carter passed out a list of 78 tax forfeited properties and asked the supervisors to look over the list and identify any properties they did not want sold.

Carter said he would also give a list to the board of aldermen, so they city and county could identify together any properties they did not want sold.

Carter said the city and the county could send a list and pictures of all the properties they want sold back to the state. The state advertises and promotes the sale on its website, sealed bids are sent in and then buyers have three weeks to pay, Carter said.

“It’s all designed to get these properties back on the tax roll,” he said.