NATCHEZ — Instant levee equipment arrived on Silver Street Tuesday afternoon, and the area’s business and landowners hope it will stop Mississippi River floodwaters forecasted to crest at 65 feet May 22 from seeping into the old brick buildings under the hill.

Denton Biglane, whose family owns much of the land on Silver Street, said the protective wall system purchased by the business and landowners for Silver Street is the same type used by the Army Corps of Engineers.

“It’s either lose it all down here or put up the wall,” Biglane said.

A company called HESCO Bastion out of Houma, La., manufactures the protective wall sections. The system consists of a prefabricated steel containers, which can be unfolded, stacked and filled with sand, according to the company’s website.

Bulldozers demolished the former Wharf Master’s House restaurant Tuesday in order to make room for the wall, Biglane said.

Biglane said the wall needs to be 8 feet from the Isle of Capri office, which is the southern most building on Silver Street, but the former restaurant was just over 5 feet away from the Isle of Capri office.

“I’m sorry the building had to go,” Biglane said. “I don’t see how anybody has a choice.”

Biglane said floodwaters entering Sliver Street buildings could carry larger consequences than bucked floors.

“The old brick and lime mortar will powder (if flooded),” Biglane said, pointing to partial decay on the bottom layer of bricks at the Under-the-Hill Saloon.

The brick and mortar could disintegrate if saturated with too much water, threatening a full-scale collapse, he said.

City Planner Bob Nix said he has not inspected the buildings on Silver Street, but that the very old buildings tend not to have structural support other than brick and mortar, which can decay. He said modern buildings are now built with more reinforcement.

Biglane said he met with City Engineer David Gardner and Silver Street business owners Tuesday, and the city has been helping with the plans.

“The city engineer is falling all over himself to help us,” Biglane said.

Gardner said the wall will stretch from the south side of the Isle of Capri office building, cross the street and wrap north on the sidewalk side of the road until reaching a few feet past the Fulton Street Ramp.

“It will be like a big L-shape type configuration,” Gardner said. “It should be enough to keep water from getting in those buildings.”

Traffic on Silver Street will be two-way starting Thursday, with the Magnolia Grill parking lot being used as a turn-around area, Gardner said.

When the river gets closer to cresting, Gardner said a pedestrian safety zone will probably go into effect to take precautions in case the system fails.

“We hope to keep traffic down there (for business), but we will (eventually) restrict people from walking next to levees — it’s too dangerous,” Gardner said.