School buses were routinely driven over Ocean Springs bridge rated for far lower weights
Ocean Springs Mayor Kenny Holloway is hoping the Hanshaw Road Bridge can be reopened to cars and pickup trucks until school is out, but one thing’s for sure: No school buses will be crossing the bridge.
Ocean Springs school buses were using the bridge before the state ordered it closed March 5 for safety reasons — even though the buses, when loaded with children, would be double the stated weight limit.
The posted weight was 7 to 8 tons. School buses weigh 12 tons empty, 14 tons when loaded, the School District says.
There “shouldn’t have been school buses on it to begin with,” State Aid Engineer Harry Lee James told the Sun Herald on Monday.
The 7-ton limit applied to single-axle vehicles, which includes school buses, he said. The limit was 8 tons for double-axle vehicles.
While buses can’t use the bridge, Holloway hopes it can be reopened until school is out for the convenience of parents, students and school employees. Ocean Springs Middle School is on Hanshaw Road and the high school is nearby.
Jackson County has agreed to work with the city on repairs.
Bridge construction plans
The weight limit is posted at both ends of the bridge, Jackson County Supervisor Randy Bosarge said. James said state aid records show a weight limit of 20 tons on the bridge in 2017 but he did not know when the weight limit was lowered.
An Ocean Springs School District spokesman said the district had not been notified that buses should not use the bridge. District communications director Trey Brennan said three school buses were traveling the bridge, for a total of six trips each school day.
Bosarge, who regularly drives the bridge, said the weight limit was lowered well over a year ago. The bridge spans Davis Bayou between U.S. 90 and Old Spanish Trail and handles almost 10,000 vehicles per day. Online photos show the weight-limit signs have been in place for at least five years.
A recent underwater inspection, James said, showed that marine borers, or water termites, had eaten into the bridge pilings below the water line. The state then notified the city that the bridge would need to close.
James said that he plans to meet Wednesday with Holloway while the mayor is in Jackson. James isn’t sure he’ll have an answer by then on whether light traffic can use the bridge. A final report on its condition is not due until Friday.
Meanwhile, Jackson County has agreed to replace the wooden pilings on the bridge, which should extend its life another six to seven years. Bosarge said concrete pilings won’t fit into caps that hold the pilings in place under the bridge deck. The bridge was built in 1991.
Holloway plans to ask the Board of Aldermen on Tuesday night to begin setting aside money for bridge construction. He said the city has other bridges with wood pilings and they should all be checked to see what replacements will be needed in the next eight to 10 years.
This story was originally published March 18, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
