Posted on Fri, May. 09, 2008

BILOXI -- With the city about to launch a $355 million infrastructure project, the council room at City Hall was packed Thursday with engineers and others wanting to manage the work.

Nearly 100 representatives of firms attended the hour-long pre-proposal bid conference, said Public Affairs Director Vincent Creel. The meeting included an overview of the project followed by time for questions.

"Their proposals are due May 15," said Creel. "Mid-June the city looks to have a team in place."

If the winning firm doesn't already have a team of personnel in Biloxi, it will once the work begins. That will happen as soon as FEMA starts releasing the money, said Creel, and the project is expected to take four to six years.

"This is taking project management to the next step," said Creel. The work includes repairing or replacing all the infrastructure in the areas of the city in the Hurricane Katrina storm surge.

"We're going to enlist a team of engineers who will guide this project through the design, contracting, construction and FEMA close-out phases," said Mayor A.J. Holloway. He expects project management firms from across the nation to compete for the contract.