NATCHEZ — The Adams County road manager elected last week to keep both lanes on Martin Luther King Jr. Road open near Anna’s Bottom. The road has two spots with 30- to 40-feet areas in which dirt has washed away near the edges of the pavement.

Adams County Road Manager Robbie Dollar and Interim County Engineer Jim Marlow went out to review the site before Thursday’s special called Adams County Supervisors meeting to make a decision.

Dollar said crews would install a device on the edge of the road near the slope to guide drainage water around the area being eroded. Dollar said crews would also put up more barricades near the edge of the road.

Signs would also be installed, alerting motorists of danger and urging them to drive more slowly, he said.

Dollar said he would watch what happens with the road during the next rain to see if the condition worsens. If more erosion occurs near the edge of the road, Dollar said he would advocate closing half of one lane to traffic.

With the large shoulder on the opposite side of the road and half a lane open, Dollar said, vehicles traveling in opposite directions would still have room to pass simultaneously.

The county is seeking emergency status for the eroded sites near Martin Luther King Jr. Road. Interim County Engineer Jim Marlow estimated the cost to repair one of the sites would be approximately $125,000 and for the other location, $175,000 to $200,000.

Marlow warned county supervisors earlier this week that the county should close one lane of traffic to err on the side of safety.

All of the county’s state aid funds for roads have been obligated for this term, so the county is seeking federal Emergency Watershed Protection program funds.

The two EWP projects have already been approved, but up to two years often pass before counties receive the money, Adams County Board of Supervisors President Mike Lazarus said Wednesday.

Letters were sent near the end of January to request that these projects be moved up to the top of the list for receiving funding.

Lazarus said these two soil erosion sites on Martin Luther King Jr. Road have deteriorated to the point where the section of the road won’t be there if two years pass before money is allocated.

Marlow said Wednesday to fix the problem, some type of retaining wall would have to be built or a geogrid would have to be installed to reinforce the soil.