Robert Mace, dredging equipment operator with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, right, primes steps Thursday leading to the lower deck of the MV Mississippi on Levee Street. Utilities are expected to be turned on in the next few weeks so renovations inside the boat can move ahead, said James Scott, marine engineer, left. The 218-foot towboat will become the Lower Mississippi River Museum and Interpretive Center. About $8.5 million has been spent on the museum’s planning and construction, Corps project manager Pat Chambers said during a tour of the boat in March. The museum is scheduled to open in 2011.  (Suzanne Feliciano*The Vicksburg Post)