NATCHEZ &045; The contractor and construction manager are hired and construction on the federal courthouse is set to begin this week, Natchez city attorney Walter Brown told the Adams County Board of Supervisors Monday.

Brown told supervisors construction is set to begin Thursday.

The board approved the contracting bid from Wilmar Construction of Vidalia just as the Natchez Board of Aldermen approved it in late October.

The federal courthouse project is an interlocal agreement between the city and county.

&uot;We agreed the city would do the handling of the business part of it, but we definitely are a part,&uot; board President Lynwood Easterling said.

Brown also named the construction manager, Robert Shook from BuildPublic, L.L.C.

Now, the construction will begin to get the courthouse ready for the federal government to come in, Easterling said.

Brown said the contract is for 180 days so this phase should be complete by June 4.

Overall, if the General Services Administration gets a good jump and has their contractors hired by June, Brown said a good projection for completion of the federal courthouse is July or August 2005.

There is a preconstruction conference today in the city’s counsel chambers that is open to the public.

Walter Tipton, Natchez tourism director, told the board about a collective initiative from the counties and towns along U.S. 61 to make the roadway a historic scenic byway.