Construction bids for the facility were accepted last Thursday and aldermen on Tuesday approved Paul Jackson and Son as contractor for the project. Architect Michael Barranco will be in Brookhaven June 16 to sign the paperwork so that the project will officially start - finally.

"We're moving ahead," said Mayor Bob Massengill. "This project so long in the making is moving ahead at this point, but it has been a major job in getting it to this point. We've had one roadblock after another."

The multi-modal facility was the dream of former Mayor Bill Godbold, who had a multi-million dollar transportation hub in mind. But through the years, the plan has been downsized to fit the budget.

Then there was the issue of dock height that became a rubbing point for the city. The Federal Railway Administration refused to allow the dock height on new facilities to be lower than 15 inches for boarding purposes, while Canadian National Railway officials said they would not settle for anything higher than 8 inches, as it could damage freight cars.

But that worked itself out as well, and Massengill said he's glad to have the go-ahead on every front.

"This is the most frustrating project I've dealt with in five years as mayor," he said. "If you count my years as alderman, I've dealt with it for eight years, and I know this board is pleased to see it coming to fruition."

Massengill said the base bid for the project from Paul Jackson and Son is $932,000, with several alternatives that deal with issues such as demolition and fencing that will amount to another $36,400.

A lower bid from another company was disqualified because of some information that was left out of the bid packet, City Clerk Mike Jinks said.

Project funding is coming through the Federal Transportation Authority and administered by the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

"The city's match on this is the property," Massengill said.



The train boarding area will be moved 1,600 feet to the north to load and unload passengers at the facility on North Railroad Avenue. More 4,000 people a year get on or off the train in Brookhaven, Massengill said.

"This will give them a nice comfortable facility in which they can board the trains," he said. "And our hope is that as this is being used for train passengers, some of the area bus services that take people to the V.A. Hospital or other facilities in the Jackson area will use this as their hub."

The multi-modal facility will be named after Godbold, a decision Massengill said the board of aldermen made several years ago.

"Now the real work begins, but it has been a major job in getting to this point," Massengill said.