NATCHEZ — After a little more than a year, one Cemetery Road Emergency Watershed Protection program project has already failed.

County officials say the projects, which are funded through a United States Department of Agriculture program, have been hit or miss, enough that county supervisors are questioning the merits of the projects.

In the case of the Cemetery Road project, County Road Department Manager Robbie Dollar said the county might have to repair the pipe and wall because the gravel road is sinking. Dollar said the repair would cost as much as it did to install the project, approximately $34,000.

“If you have to dig it up and go back in, it’s going to cost about the same as doing the project,” Dollar said.

Dollar said the road is still open, but he urged drivers to be cautious because of the dip in the road. He said the location is less than a quarter of a mile from where Pine Ridge Road ends.

“It could be dangerous if someone is speeding,” Dollar said.

District 4 Supervisor Ricky Gray said when he was a City of Natchez alderman, the city used to have a problem with contractors disappearing during the year warranty of EWP projects. Gray said leaders need to remember the contractors who are shirking on their responsibility and not pay them in the future.

District 2 Supervisor David Carter said some contractors are nowhere to be found during the warranty year for county projects, but in the instance of Cemetery Road, Dollar said the contractor is not at fault.

Board President and District 1 Supervisor Mike Lazarus said the county needs to have a special meeting to rethink EWP projects.

For example, an EWP project out at the Narrows on Jackson Point Road is just a money pit destined to fail because the road is often underwater when the Mississippi River goes into flood stage, Lazarus said. The road needs a bridge, but the county has been unable to obtain funds for a bridge, he said.

County Engineer Jim Marlow said he believes the flaw with EWP projects is they are underfunded. During design, engineers have to stay within the money provided in the grants, which Marlow said is not always enough to take care of the problem.

Gray wondered why the county was going forward with projects if engineers know they are likely to fail.

Gray said if engineers would alert supervisors ahead of time, the county could start budgeting for extra funds to make sure these projects are built to last. Gray said it would be better to spend a little more to get it right on the front end than having to go back and doubling what was originally spent redoing projects.

Lazarus said the county could also look at self-funding EWPs and doing fewer each year. Lazarus said it would also save some money as the county road crew could handle the project.

“Someone might have to wait, but it’s better to wait and build it right than (do less quality work) and be back in a year working on it,” Lazarus said. “In my mind, we are just wasting money.

“If we can’t do a project that lasts longer than a year, we need to stay away from it or do it different.”

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s EWP program aims to make improvements and repairs to systems designed to prevent hazards to life and property, such as floods.

The program can remove debris from stream channels, road culverts and bridges; reshape and protect eroded banks; correct damaged drainage facilities; establish cover on critically eroding lands; repair levees and structures; and repair conservation practices.

The projects are funded through a grant requiring a 25 percent local match.