The Demopolis City Council on Thursday approved selling almost 1 acre of property to allow for the construction of a new bridge on U.S. Hwy. 43.

The purchase of .93 acres in right-of-way along Hwy. 43 — property currently part of the Sportsplex — is needed for a bridge replacement project to begin in the near future. The construction involved the placement of a parallel bridge and road, according to Mayor John Laney.

The property was purchased at a total price of $49,575, which includes over $12,000 for site improvements. Those improvements will include new signage for the Sportsplex as the construction project will require the current sign to be removed. The city will determine what type of sign will be placed for the Sportsplex.

According to the Alabama Department of Transportation, the price offered for the property is based on qualified real estate appraisal.

Some residents who live in the area of the bridge to be replaced have already sold their properties and have moved.

A motion to sell the property to ALDOT was approved by unanimous vote.

Other items discussed at the city council meeting included:

• approving an agreement with ALDOT that calls for the city to maintain a traffic light at U.S. Hwy. 80 and Front Street. ALDOT recently upgraded the traffic light and the city will now maintain it.

• approving a list of surplus property from city departments to be sold on govdeals.com. The items to be sold include vehicles, computer equipment, and lawn mowers.

Officials said all departments reviewed the items to ensure they were not needed within the city.

• approving a travel request for Mayor Laney to attend the Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway meeting  June 7-9.

• Building Inspector Julius Rembert reported that the filing process is still underway for five properties targeted under the city’s new dilapidated housing process. He said once those five properties get to a certain point in the process the department will begin looking into the next five properties on the city’s list of possible dilapidated properties.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 18, 5:15 p.m., at Rooster Hall.

(This article originally appeared in the Saturday, May 6, print edition of the Demopolis Times.)