Years of obstacles and roadblocks appear to be coming to an endas a bid for the construction of the Bill Godbold Multi-modalFacility finally has been awarded.

Construction bids for the facility were accepted last Thursdayand aldermen on Tuesday approved Paul Jackson and Son as contractorfor the project. Architect Michael Barranco will be in BrookhavenJune 16 to sign the paperwork so that the project will officiallystart – finally.

“We’re moving ahead,” said Mayor Bob Massengill. “This projectso long in the making is moving ahead at this point, but it hasbeen a major job in getting it to this point. We’ve had oneroadblock after another.”

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

Then there was the issue of dock height that became a rubbingpoint for the city. The Federal Railway Administration refused toallow the dock height on new facilities to be lower than 15 inchesfor boarding purposes, while Canadian National Railway officialssaid they would not settle for anything higher than 8 inches, as itcould damage freight cars.

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

“This is the most frustrating project I’ve dealt with in fiveyears as mayor,” he said. “If you count my years as alderman, I’vedealt with it for eight years, and I know this board is pleased tosee it coming to fruition.”

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

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

Project funding is coming through the Federal TransportationAuthority and administered by the Mississippi Department ofTransportation.

“The city’s match on this is the property,” Massengill said.

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

“This will give them a nice comfortable facility in which theycan board the trains,” he said. “And our hope is that as this isbeing used for train passengers, some of the area bus services thattake people to the V.A. Hospital or other facilities in the Jacksonarea will use this as their hub.”

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

“Now the real work begins, but it has been a major job ingetting to this point,” Massengill said.