NATCHEZ &8212; The Mississippi Department of Transportation is finishing its new 30-year plan and wants you input.

Several members of the department met Monday with city and county officials and later held a presentation for Adams County residents.

&8220;This is kind of a new thing for us to do for the long-term plan,&8221; Statewide Planning Manager Robert Burt said at Monday&8217;s public meeting. &8220;It&8217;s been successful so far.&8221;

Natchez is stop number four in a series of MDOT sessions in towns across the state. The department wants to know Mississippi residents&8217; priorities.

The long-range plan is general rather than project-specific, Burt said, so it does not lay out specific projects for Adams County.

Highways, bicycles and pedestrians, ports and waterways, rail, aviation and public transit are all addressed in the plan, he said.

The department&8217;s revenue versus needs spurred the interest in public feedback, Burt said.

When compared, the department&8217;s revenue was $7 billion short of the $22 billion in needs over the next 30 years, he said. So the department decided to find out what was needed most and where to spend the money they did have.

Income from fuel tax, the basis for the department&8217;s revenue, has faltered recently, Burt said.

&8220;Gas prices have gone up, so people are traveling less,&8221; Burt said. &8220;And people are buying vehicles that get better gas mileage, so they&8217;re using less fuel.&8221;

So MDOT set up meetings with the public, as well as city and county officials across the state.

At the meeting with Natchez and Adams County officials, attendees asked how they could help MDOT, Burt said.

&8220;They saw a coordination between a good highway system and industry and quality of life,&8221; Burt said. &8220;They were interested in how they could help MDOT. That was very encouraging to hear.&8221;

For those who did not get a chance to voice their opinions at Monday&8217;s meeting, Burt said feedback was welcomed at www.mdotmultiplan.com.