The sounds of helicopters can now be heard behind Natchez Regional Medical Center.

The helicopter landing platform, or helipad, is operational and nearly finished, Natchez-Adams County Airport Director of Aviation Clint Pomeroy said Wednesday.

Helicopters can now air lift patients from NRMC to other hospitals without the previously necessary 12-mile ride to the airport.

“Last month, we started using it when we got the last of the lights hooked up,” Pomeroy said. “We didn’t want to delay it. It has not been officially accepted, but it is fully functional.”

The helipad still has to be inspected, he said. After the final touches and a drainage pipe are finished, representatives from the hospital, as well as the contractor, the engineer, Pomeroy and possibly a representative from Mississippi Department of Transportation will inspect the structure.

Two or three helicopters have already used the helipad, most of them from the University Medical Center in Jackson, Pomeroy said.

He said he expected 90 percent of the future flights onto the helipad to come from UMC.

Once the inspection is completed, the project can be closed, and the airport will hand over operation to the hospital.

The project, started in August, was fully funded by a $186,007 grant from the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Pomeroy said.

“It’s been a very smooth project,” he said. “We were very pleased we didn’t have a lot of weather delays. The only delays we had were a few days here and there waiting for parts. It’s always a pleasure to have a project that goes pretty smoothly.”

The hospital originally estimated the project would be finished early Nov. 2006.