County officials will travel to Washington early this week in anattempt to bring federal attention to several local projects.

Board President and District Five Supervisor Gary Walker,District One Supervisor the Rev. Jerry Wilson, County AdministratorDavid Fields and County Engineer Carl Ray Furr will leave Tuesdayfor Wednesday meetings with members of Mississippi’s congressionaldelegation.

“We have to go a couple times a year and just keep knocking onthat door,” Fields said. “We have to keep our topics in front ofthem to ever get them funded.”

The focus of the trip will be the same as the last one in thefall of 2005, when supervisors stressed the need for fundinginfrastructure work at the LinBrook Business Park, Fields said.

“I think once we get it up and running, we can get some industryin here,” Walker said.

A cooperative effort between the county, city and theBrookhaven-Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce, the 400-acrebusiness park west of Interstate 55 off Brookway Boulevard embodiesthe best hope for major industrial development in the county,officials said.

The land has been purchased, but approximately $3.3 million ininfrastructure work still needs to be completed. That work includeswater and sewer lines, a water tower, and a road connecting thepark to Brookway Boulevard.

A nearly $500,000 proposal for lighting at the intersection ofI-55 and the boulevard is not included in that estimated projectcost, but officials consider it a vital part of making the parkattractive to industries.

“We’re looking at the lighting project as part of the industrialpark,” Fields said.

Officials also intend to stress the importance of bridge fundingand ask for certain county bridge projects to be earmarked forfederal funding.

“I’ve got some bridges that are real bad. Some are falling in,”Wilson said. “They’re mostly timber bridges. I want to come back inwith all concrete bridges.”

Fields said supervisors have been emphasizing bridge money forat least the past eight years. Those efforts, however, have metwith limited success.

“Unless we have a big bridge project, I don’t see us having alot of success with that,” he said.

The county uses whatever state or federal bridge money thatbecomes available. While they would like to have more, officialscontinue to stress the importance of bridges so that funding is notdiminished.

“We always bring it up and hit it, but the best thing to do isto just let them know it’s still a key issue to keep them aware andkeep that funding coming,” he said.

Wilson, who is making his first trip to Washington as asupervisor, said he would also like to find out what federalprogram are available to assist the elderly in repairing orrenovating their homes.

“That project for the elderly is a critical issue in mydistrict,” he said.

Although several other issues are worthy of attention, Fieldssaid, it’s best to keep the list of topics short and avoid laundrylists of minor or unlikely projects.