Posted on Fri, Mar. 28, 2008
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Get ready for Biloxi Bay week and new flow on Casino Row
By MARY PEREZ
meperez@sunherald.com
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BILOXI --
All six lanes of the Biloxi Bay Bridge and all traffic lanes on U.S. 90 from the bridge to Interstate 110 will be open by April 7."MDOT will open that section of Highway 90 the same time we open the lanes of the bridge," said Kelly Castleberry, district area engineer for the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The milestone day the Coast has waited for since Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina washed away the bridge, will actually be celebrated for a week.
On Monday the three westbound lanes from Ocean Springs to Biloxi will open and drivers will be greeted in Biloxi with smooth new traffic lanes all the way to I-110.
On April 7 all the remaining barriers in the eastbound lanes of the bridge will come down and all six lanes will be open to traffic, along with the newly paved eastbound lanes of U.S. 90 from the Beau Rivage to Isle of Capri casinos.
"We welcome the news," said Rich Westfall, community development director for the Isle.
About 20,000 cars cross the bridge each day and with construction on both the bridge and highway, drivers were reluctant to come to the area.
"This will really ease the traffic and bring people to this section of East Biloxi," Westfall said.
Castleberry said occasional lane closures for a couple of hours may be needed to complete the work on U.S. 90, but essentially the single-lane traffic that started the day after the bridge opened is history and that part of Biloxi has new curbs, sidewalks and drainage.
GC Constructors built the $338 million bridge and MDOT opened the first two lanes on Nov. 1, two weeks ahead of schedule. Mid-April was the construction deadline.
"The contractor will complete the work before schedule," said Castleberry. "However, there is no bonus for achieving this milestone, only a disincentive of $57,000 a day for not achieving the required schedule."
Cleaning operations will continue at the bridge until April 16.
Castleberry said the art that will decorate the bridge is still being processed by the artist.
"Once all of the pieces have been cast, crews will place the artwork on the pedestrian pedestals built for the art work," probably in late summer due to temperature and humidity, he said.
It will probably be later in the year before all the new lights along U.S. 90 in Harrison County are in place and timed, he said.
