City and county leaders are rushing to rescue a road projectcritical to the startup of a new industry, plugging gaps in theproject’s federal funding with local money.

Lincoln County supervisors and Brookhaven aldermen are eachcontributing $144,000 to the reconstruction of Boyce Street, alittle-used road planned to be the main access point for Rex LumberBrookhaven when it cranks up early next year.

The Mississippi Development Authority is chipping in ahalf-million to help cover the cost of the $1.288 million projectto strengthen and widen the small city lane – which will become RexLumber Drive – and the U.S. Economic Development Administration isexpected to deliver another $500,000. But that left $288,000unaccounted for, and the federal EDA told aldermen and supervisorsthe grant process would not go forward without a local pledge tocover the remainder.

The city put up its half of the remaining amount first, andsupervisors followed suit Monday.

“If we don’t do it, it would defeat the purpose,” said DistrictTwo Supervisor Bobby Watts. “My vote is 100 percent for it.”

The five supervisors voted 100 percent, too, but the EDA’sdemand letter caused discomfort for a board nearing the end of itsstash for the current fiscal year while crafting another slimbudget to take effect Oct. 1. But with Rex Lumber Brookhaven -which bought out the defunct 65-year-old Columbus Lumber Co. lastyear – in the midst of a $10 million investment and planning tohire more than 100 workers and start sawing logs by spring 2011,the unplanned expenditure was worth it.

Preparations for the sawmill’s startup are well under way nearthe railroad tracks north of downtown Brookhaven, with the firstbig job already complete. Contractors covered the 145-acre groundsthroughout July, tearing away old portions of the mill to make roomfor a massive new millhouse.

Rex Lumber Brookhaven General Manager Doug Boykin said work onthe new mill’s foundation should begin in mid-September.

“A lot of the equipment has been ordered, and some it’s alreadycome in,” he said. “The majority of it will be coming in fromOctober through January. We’ll be installing it as it comesin.”

Boykin said the Rex Lumber staff has grown from a skeleton crewleft to maintain the business after its foreclosure last Septemberto a workforce of 17, but dozens more will be needed when the millbegins operating. He said the call offering jobs back to formeremployees would go out in January and February, with lumberproduction planned to start in March.

Boyce Street will be instrumental in the mill’s success and isneeded to handle the large volume of ingoing and outgoing trucksexpected, Boykin said. Rex Lumber is expected to out-produce theformer Columbus Lumber Co. by “several million board feet” peryear.

“Using that road diverts traffic around Behan Road, so you don’thave long lines of log trucks down the corner,” Boykin said.

Great Southern Wood Preserving, Inc., which occupies the backportion of the Rex Lumber lot and is already producing itsYellaWood brand treated lumber, will also use the new road toincrease its efficiency.