A group of Vicksburg business and marketing pros wants to help the Vicksburg Bridge Commission lobby to get Kansas City Southern railroad behind plans to put a pedestrian park and bike trail on the bridge.

Members of Leadership Vicksburg, a group of 10 people from the business and public sector, chose the project from a list of 15 projects small and large planned in Vicksburg.

Heather Butler, director of marketing at DiamondJacks Casino, addressed the Vicksburg Bridge Commission Wednesday on the group’s intentions.

&#8220We came here to partner with you,” Butler said. &#8220This project was decided unanimously. We are very passionate about this.”

The group’s members are Butler, Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce executive director Christi Kilroy, Vicksburg Warren School District employee Miki Ginn, Vicksburg Police Deputy Chief Richard O’Bannon, Dr. Paul Ballard, dentist, city employee Vanessa Johnson, Entergy spokesman Don Arnold, Vicksburg Convention Center special events coordinator Erin Powell, Warren Yazoo Mental Health official Elizabeth Naya and Trustmark Bank executive Amy Haygood.

Butler said the group would be willing to &#8220bulldog” the railroad to help make the park a reality despite its funding and legal status.

The Mississippi Department of Transportation secured more than $30 million in funds from federal legislation in 2005 freeing up $244.1 billion for highway enhancements and projects related to transportation structures.

The bridge park is one of four projects MDOT has put on hold until financing or legal issues are settled.

KCS is a major source of funding for Warren County’s efforts to maintain the bridge, but it is also the chief opponent of the project. The railroad has long promised legal action if the idea ever got off the ground.

For their part, commissioners were open to meeting with the group to further form what their strategy would be.

&#8220They’re our No. 1 user and our greatest impediment (on the park plans),” chairman Robert Moss said. &#8220It’s been favorably received by MDOT but there’s no certainty on the grant.”

Another issue the commission addressed was the placement of cameras on pier 4 of the span, which has been struck multiple times through the years by barges.

The most recent incident, a Feb. 1 collision with a crude oil barge resulting in a bank-to-bank fire on the Mississippi River, prompted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to broach the subject to the panel.

Patrick Chambers, chief of navigation with the Corps’ Vicksburg District, told the commission cameras could monitor barges coming down the river.

&#8220They’ve all been pilot error,” Chambers said, adding cameras installed at other points along the river have worked well.

Commissioner Tom Hill motioned successfully for the Corps to form a proposal on the idea, including location, number of cameras and safety concerns.