VIDALIA &045; After months of stops and starts and more stops, the Vidalia Gateway and Welcome Center may be finally turning a corner.

Recently opened bids for the Gateway Center are within budget and could be just days away from approval, Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

&uot;We’ve got the bids in, and we’re just waiting for state approval,&uot; Copeland said. &uot;They just have to go over all the details and make sure everything’s in order.&uot;

Traxler Construction Inc. bid $4,269,000 with alternate bids of $112,000, $242,000 and $97,000. Don M. Barron Contractor Inc., of Farmerville, La., was the only other bidder with bids of $4,576,000 and alternate bids of $125,000, $247,000 and $95,000.

In August, the town thought it had secured a contract when Barron Contractor Inc., was the lowest bidder at $4,000,500 with alternate bids of $54,000, $237,500 and $89,000. But a mistake in the advertising process &045;&160;a call for bids was put out only once instead of the three required times &045;&160;forced a new round of bids.

The first round of bids, taken in March, were about $1 million more than the projected $4 million cost.

Copeland said he’s optimistic the latest round of bids will work out and construction can be started soon.

&uot;One thing I’ve learned through my political career, and I hate it, it’s to have patience,&uot; Copeland said.