NATCHEZ — Natchez officials said they accomplished their goal of keeping several Natchez projects at the forefront of legislative representatives’ minds during their recent trip to Washington, D.C.

Natchez City Engineer David Gardner and Natchez National Historical Park Superintendent Kathleen Jenkins met with Sen. Thad Cochran, Sen. Roger Wicker and Rep. Gregg Harper last week.

“I thought it was a success,” Gardner said. “We talked to them about several different projects, and they expressed a lot of interest in helping us make them happen.”

At the top of Gardner’s list of projects for which he lobbied was the completion of four-laning the portion of U.S. 84 known as the El Camino corridor. The corridor runs from Brunswick, Ga., through Natchez to El Paso, Texas.

Gardner said he also told the representatives that he was concerned about the decrease in funding for the National Scenic Byways Program, which has provided money for the Natchez Trace Parkway. Gardner said he hopes to eventually tie the Natchez Trails Project into bicycle trails on the Trace.

“I think our presence there during the time they were discussing key issues on the floor helped keep us on their minds,” Gardner said.

Cochran and Maryland Democrat Sen. Ben Cardin co-authored an amendment to the bill presented last week that would give local governments, rather than state departments of transportation, access to most federal bicycle and pedestrian transportation funding.

Gardner said the local representatives also told him they would look into helping the city obtain the $500,000 to finish the North Natchez Drainage Project, ensure the city received pending funds from the Emergency Watershed Protection Program for eight projects and move the Natchez Visitor Reception Center from the city’s inventory to the National Park Service.

Jenkins said Harper committed his support to any legislation needed for the park service to acquire land at the Forks of the Road as part of a proposed project.

Jenkins did not lobby because she cannot legally do so as a NPS employee. Jenkins said she gave the representatives progress reports on various projects NPS is involved in around the city.

Gardner and Jenkins both said they felt good about the overall experience of the trip, and both noted the importance of making the trip to the Capitol each year.

“You never really get anything right off the bat,” Gardner said. “Even though it’s sometimes a year or a couple of years before you get the help you ask for, it’s absolutely critical to go up there every year and remind them of your needs.”