A project more than 10 years in the makingstands 320 feet away from completion.

    A Greenbriar Digging crew was at work on Wednesday to cut thatnumber in half.

    The Multi-Modal Transportation Facility on Railroad Street has longbeen in development, but the facility will open once its loadingplatform is lengthened from 80 feet to 400 feet.

    Greenbriar will extend the platform by 160 feet on either side ofwhat currently exists. Wednesday’s crew worked to raise and levelthe ground for one of the extensions, in preparation of layingcement.

Crew member Stephen Smith walked back andforth along the length of the leveled mound surveying its height.Railroad regulations require that the finished platform be no morethan 2 inches higher than the railroad line.

The extended platform will improve thelogistics of running a passenger train through Brookhaven.

    “A longer platform will make loading and unloading much easier forAmtrak trains,” said Nelson Chance, a railroad representativeobserving construction efforts.

    The Brookhaven station joins a number of renovations that haveoccurred along the train line in the area. Chance said that theloading dock in Hammond, La., has also been lengthened and has beenlighted. It is only a few days from completion.

    The platform in Hazlehurst has also received a fresh look.

    Greenbriar undertook the Brookhaven project at a cost of $106,200.A Mississippi Department of Transportation grant is funding 80percent of the cost while Amtrak will pick up the remaining 20percent.