Investors in the $100 million Riverwalk complex are confident Vicksburg’s fifth casino and hotel venue will be up and running by November.

Most recently, crews with Jackson-based Benchmark Construction have been clearing the path for a turning lane from Warrenton Road down to the ledge by the Mississippi River where the complex has been under construction for several months.

“We’re opening according to ours and the state’s schedule,” said John F. Barrett, an Oklahoma-based investor in the project.

A planned November opening is likely, Barrett said, putting it “well ahead of schedule.”

Riverwalk would be Vicksburg’s first new gaming venue since neighboring Rainbow Casino opened in 1994. Two others remain in various pre-construction regulatory phases.

It will sit on pilings on the Mississippi River on 22 acres and feature an 80-room hotel, 800 slot machines and, if long-term plans allow, a landscaped walkway highlighting views of the river.

Riverwalk will have 750 parking spaces, including a 325-space garage to face the casino and hotel at an angle. Plans also call for a traffic signal to be placed at the entrance to regulate traffic, pending approval of plans of project designers by the city.

Barrett is one of a consortium of investors involved in Riverwalk, including his father, John A. Barrett Jr., an original developer and minority stakeholder in Rainbow. Controlling interest will be held by Chicago real estate magnate Neil Bluhm.

Originally proposed as Magnolia Hills and Pot of Gold, the development underwent various changes in scope and financing before construction began in June.

Initial parking layouts were deemed onerous by homeowners in the area, some of whom put their houses up for sale even after Vicksburg zoning officials OK’d modified plans in late 2005.

Architects assured city officials and Warrenton Road before construction that lighting would be aimed away from the homes along Warrenton and stormwater runoff will be filtered for impurities to maintain the integrity of the Mississippi River.

Separately, plans for the Mississippi Bluffs casino and golf complex about a mile north from Riverwalk remain alive. Talks continued into the new year between its Denver-based developer Paul Bunge and Las Vegas-based American Gaming Enterprises to buy out the gaming portion of the development.

If a transfer occurs, Mississippi Gaming Commission deputy director Allen Godfrey said, AGE must appear before state regulators to be approved to proceed.

Newly relaxed rules regarding the licensing process afford the group more time, Godfrey said.

Previously, developers had two years from having its site approved to have its financing approved. To ease financing hardships on developers post-Katrina, he said, firms now have three years to gather financing after site approval. Also, commission approval of a transfer such as Bluffs is not necessary.

Another proposed casino planned farther south off U.S. 61 South by Minnesota-based Lakes Entertainment is contingent on the fate of 155 acres of railroad right of way.

The U.S. Surface Transportation Board, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, ruled in December the lines may be abandoned by Kansas City Southern but first rights for purchasing the lines lie with Foam Packaging for use in having its materials delivered.

Lakes officials had argued preserving the lines would disrupt construction of the $200 million casino resort. The City of Vicksburg had purchased the acreage using escrow account funds to either further the casino development, or, if it was deemed inadequate, convert the property to a Rails-To-Trails bicycle path.

If all developments are completed, there would be four casinos south of the river bridges and three north. Ameristar remains the largest development and is growing, now adding parking garages and additional casino space. A second and possibly third hotel are also in planning stages.

Built as Isle of Capri, Vicksburg’s first-to-open casino is now DiamondJacks. Owners announced major redesign and expansion plans for that complex, off Washington near Clark Street, but have undertaken only exterior painting and changing signs.

The complex closest to downtown, now Horizon, is changing hands for a third time. It was built by Harrah’s and was Mississippi’s first casino-hotel unit when it opened in November 1994.