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Biloxi, Miss., Area Works to Eliminate Gridlock Caused By Damage From Katrina

Posted on: Thursday, 29 September 2005, 09:00 CDT

By Don Hammack, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Sep. 29--Frazzled drivers, and that's every one of us, have some relief from Hurricane Katrina-caused gridlock just around the curve.

Some advances, like work on Interstate 10 and I-110, could remove impediments within two weeks. Others, like restoration along U.S. 90, which should allow two lanes of traffic within the same time frame, may be masked by other problems.

In Jackson County, I-10 has been down to two lanes after a barge and two tugs hit the southern span of the Pascagoula River bridge, forcing replacement of 300 feet of supports and roadway, and repair of horizontal beams on two other sections.

The Columbia contractor has a $100,000 per day incentive-disincentive clause in the project, with an Oct. 11 completion date. In other words, every day earlier pays an extra $100,000; every day late costs the contractor the same amount.

"We're hoping we're going to pay him a few hundred thousand dollars," said Wayne Brown, southern district transportation commissioner.

He said bottlenecks on I-110 could be eliminated within 1 1/2 weeks. One outside column on the northbound bridge was severely damaged, but contractors are driving new ones and four full lanes should be open soon.

Repairing U.S. 90 is a trickier proposition, from the scale of the work to outside logistical problems. The first stage should be complete soon.

"I'd say within two weeks we'll have the eastbound lanes finished, it looks like," MDOT district engineer Ricky Lee said. "We could open it to two-way traffic then."

Whether the general public sees that happen, though, will be decided by the local municipalities. Access south of the CSX railroad tracks has been severely restricted while recovery and debris removal efforts continue.

The westbound lanes had more damage because of washouts. Contracts will be awarded soon for those repairs, which would take three to four months.

It will take substantially longer to return U.S. 90 to what it once was, however. When it reopens, some traffic lights could be mounted on wooden poles and not all signal changes will be actuated by waiting cars, requiring fixed, continuous cycles.

Fixing sidewalks, curbs, turning lanes, parking bays and repaving the main roadway are all longer-term problems.

There are even places where traffic lights might not be needed anymore. Lee pointed to the light in front of the heavily damaged Pass Christian Wal-Mart as one possible location.

Eventually, Lee said MDOT would like to see a state-of-the-art signal system to coordinate all traffic.

"That will help move traffic along Highway 90 better than anything," he said, "maybe even than adding two more lanes, which we don't intend to do."

Another early step in rebuilding the bridges over Biloxi Bay and Bay of St. Louis will take place today, when MDOT publishes its requests for proposal for engineer-contractor teams to bid on the projects, estimated at $200 million apiece.

"We're going to get some world-class contractors to build those bridges because those are world-class jobs," said Brown.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Sun Herald, Biloxi, Miss.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.)

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