MEADVILLE &045;&045; New projects at the massive recreational lake under construction in Franklin County will begin in coming weeks, including timber sales to clear right-of-ways for future roads and new road construction.

Carol Boll of the USDA Forest Service, project director for Okhissa Lake, said bids will be accepted until Sept. 8 for timber and until Sept. 1 for the road construction contract to be awarded by the Federal Highway Administration.

&uot;We’re making progress,&uot; Boll said. &uot;The dam is being finished and will be closed to start collecting water this fall.&uot;

The lake project, based on an idea that dates to 1947, has been under way since the 1990s. Environmental studies were completed in 1998, and dam construction began in 1999 to 2000.

Problems slowed work at the dam site in an earlier stage of construction. However, those concerns have been addressed, Boll said. &uot;The dam is totally safe now.&uot;

Pickett Industries of Shreveport, La., is completing work on the dam ahead of schedule, Boll said. &uot;They had to do erosion control and sodding. And they’re placing three-by-three concrete blocks at the top of the dam where the wave action takes place.&uot;

The dam will rise to 97.1 feet, Boll said. &uot;It will be the tallest dam in Mississippi.&uot;

Businesses interested in bidding on the timber must submit sealed bids on prepared forms available at the Forest Service office in Meadville.

The sale area is in the Homochitto National Forest about two miles southeast of Meadville, including about 2,453 acres, with about 583 acres marked or designated for cutting.

It is a pre-measured timber sale with a $45,700 bid guarantee, Boll said.

Road construction will include some 7.5 miles of new access roads in and around the lake. The package will be broken into a baseline schedule and an option for bidders.

The project total is expected to fall within the price range of $5 million to $10 million.

Bid documents can be directly

downloaded from the Web site, www2.efl.fhwa.dot.gov/Documents. aspx.

Projects already completed at the site of the 1,000-acre lake include an extensive preparation of fish habitats, undertaken by Forest Service and Fish and Wildlife Service experts, among others.

The fish habitat study for Okhissa Lake won a national award, &uot;Rise

to the Future National Fish Habitat Award,&uot; Bolls said.

&uot;A few of us went to Washington, D.C., in June to receive the award. It’s a national competition given by a combination of forest service and private fishing industry sponsors.&uot;

Stocking the lake with fish will take place in the fall as water begins to fill the lake. &uot;We’ll put in fingerlings, and they’ll grow with the lake.&uot;

If the lake fills as planned, it should be ready for use in early 2007.