Ringing in the New Year for the city of Wesson means countingdown the days of this year’s end to the crunching of tractors andscraping of shovels as construction workers pour and lay the finaltouches of a new sidewalk downtown.

Mayor Alton Shaw originally hoped the walkways were going to beinstalled in time to catch gravy drippings during Thanksgiving, butrain and inclement weather has pushed back the town’s developmentplans.

“Slowly, but surely,” said Shaw of the sidewalk production. “Theweather has cut them out here and there, but for the most partthey’ve been steadily working.”

All that is left for the project’s completion is to finishinstalling concrete in front of Los Lobos and Picassobilities, nearCopiah-Lincoln Community College and fix an area of sidewalk thatwas damaged by rain next to Ace Hardware.

Other than a minor setback due to rain, which was out of theworkers’ control, Shaw has been impressed with the crews’ handiworkthus far.

“They’ve been great to work with,” said Shaw. “Anything we’ve askedor try to adjust, they’d be more than willing toaccommodate.”

Once finished, residents will benefit from new walkways throughoutdowntown around areas such as in front of the Wesson Public Libraryand across from Trustmark Bank. The new sidewalks will also featurewheelchair accessibility.

The project, which is costing roughly $280,000 to complete, beganin October and Shaw hopes the new dyed and stamped sidewalks willbe finished in the near future.

“Let’s shoot for the end of January,” said Shaw. “The digging out,putting in electrical lines and pouring the foundation is the timeconsuming part.”

To help offset project costs, the city is using a sidewalk,landscaping and light grant of nearly $274,000 – which was awardedto the town three years ago from the Mississippi Department ofTransportation.

While Shaw says nine out 10 people are excited about the town’s newlook, there are those few people that feel the money should havegone elsewhere.

“As with anything, you have the positive comments and thenegative,” said Shaw. “Some people look at it like a waste ofmoney.”

Shaw added that those who complained about the money being used fornew sidewalks wanted the money to be used on new roads. However,that was not a possibility.

“I would love to spend as much money on the roads, but there wereno grants for that,” said Shaw. “We applied for the grants wequalified for. The ones covering roads, there were none availableat this time – that we qualify for.”

Shaw did mention that he would be taking a trip to Washington,D.C., in February to check on the status of a request for statetransportation appropriations of roughly $900,000, which could beused to help repair roads throughout the city.

However, Shaw does not see the city getting the go ahead for theadditional money.

“I think they’ll have a, ‘Yes this is still possible, but not thisyear,'” said Shaw. “You’re not going to get a definite yes untilit’s signed by the president.”

Santa Claus may have been a little delayed in providing Wesson withnew sidewalks, but Shaw thinks the new walkways could be a giftthat keeps on giving.

“I think it will be a visual enhancement that will last for yearsto come, and help encourage more local shopping and businessrelocation,” said Shaw.