JONESVILLE, La. – Replacement of a bridge that spans the Black River between Wildsville and Jonesville should start within the next month, a transportation official said Wednesday.

Johnson Brothers Construction was awarded a contract in August for the $14.25 million project. But the project already is behind schedule because crews had problems erecting cofferdams, or enclosed work areas, for workers that would build the new bridge.

Replacement of the aging bridge is part of a plan by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to four-lane at 27.5-mile stretch of U.S. 84 from Ferriday to just past Archie, La.

But delays in replacing the bridge should not delay the rest of the project, said Bill Forrest, district administrator for the DOTD district office in Chase, La.

&uot;The bridge replacement is separate from the rest of the project. It won’t affect those other jobs,&uot;&160;said Forrest, adding that timetables for the other parts of the project have not been pushed back.

According to DOTD officials, construction contracts should be let:

4By June 2001 for the segment of U.S. 84 from Louisiana 565 at Wildsville to Louisiana 124 at Jonesville.

4By October 2001 for the part from U.S. 65 in Ferriday to Louisiana 129 near Monterey.

4By October 2002 for the segment that runs from Louisiana 129 to Louisiana 565.

4By October 2003 for the portion that goes from Louisiana 124 to Louisiana 28 just past Archie.

But at a September meeting with local officials in Vidalia, Transportation Secretary Kam Movassaghi refused to give a specific date by which the entire project would be completed.

That was despite the fact that Concordia Parish leaders see the project as vitally important to the area’s economy.