VIDALIA — The streets of Vidalia will soon be appointed with new signs to lead the way from here to there.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said between 300 to 400 street signs are slated to arrive Friday and will be installed throughout the city soon.

Copeland made the announcement at the city’s board of aldermen meeting Tuesday.

“Every single street in Vidalia will have a new sign,” Copleand said.

The signs are blue and white and are more modern then the signs the city has currently, Vidalia Street and Sanitation Superintendent Lee Staggs said.

“The signs we have now don’t have any of the reflective material on them, so they can be hard to see sometimes at night or at different times,” Staggs said. “All of these have that, so it’s going to be easier for everyone and police officers and firemen to see the signs.

“They are really nice looking signs.”

In other news from the meeting:

Copeland told the board several residents had called him Tuesday regarding the flea market that is normally hosted on the Vidalia Riverfront around the time of the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race.

The Vidalia Landing Flea Market has been on the riverfront near Promise Hospital for the last 13 years, but Copeland said that won’t be possible this year.

“Those properties have been leased for the new hotels that are coming to town, and there was an insurance factor there,” Copeland said. “We could not ask the private landowner to take the liability of someone getting hurt on that property.”

The Desai Hotel Group, which operates the Holiday Inn Express in Natchez, is set to build two hotels with retail space and condominiums on the site.

“That property has been leased out, and there’s really nothing more we can do,” Copeland said. “Maybe in the future we can look into where else we could have it, but that land is no longer available.”

The board authorized the opening of a new checking account at Delta Bank specifically for the Vidalia Port.

Vidalia City Accountant Ashley Anderson said the separate account was necessary to keep up with all the incoming funds for the city’s project.

“As the money starts coming in, we don’t want those funds to be confused with others,” Anderson said.

The 40-acre port facility located off Louisiana 131 is intended to serve agriculture interests in Concordia Parish and complement the neighboring 240-acre industrial park to assist in bringing new industries to the area.

The project recently received $5 million in state funds, bringing the total funding secured for the port to $12.7 million.

The port is expected to be operational within a year.

The board approved a liquor license for a new restaurant, Sportsman Fish and Grill, which will be located at 1598 Carter St.