Dialysis patients in the Silver Creek area may soon avoid longdrives to receive treatment with the pending construction of aclinic.

The clinic was first announced about two years ago, when thecounty received a Mississippi Development Authority grant ofapproximately $250,000 to construct the building.

The building will be built with the grant funds. The town ofSilver Creek will retain ownership of the building, and HattiesburgClinic will operate a dialysis unit there by lease agreement, saidTerry Robertson, project engineering technician for DunganEngineering of Columbia.

Plans call for an 18-station clinic, he said.

The clinic will be located across Emu Lane from the emuprocessing plant.

The 4,080-square-foot metal building was originally planned witha 3-foot-high brick skirting, but the brick was removed to bringthe cost of the project within the budget, Robertson said. Theparking lot will be lit.

“I understand a lot of the customers and the employees are therebefore dawn and after dark, so we left the lighted parking lot inthe project,” Robertson said.

The engineer said he could not say when the project would becompleted and the building ready for Hattiesburg Clinic’s use, buthe did expect there would be some construction activity beginningas early as next week.

“The county is doing some of the site work to get it ready forthe contractor,” Robertson said. “I can’t speak for the county, butI think they may be able to start doing that next week.”