Biloxi may get a new $150 million Popp’s Ferry Bridge. How much could you pay in tolls?
A solution to replace the antiquated Popp’s Ferry bridge elevated bridge was explored Tuesday b the Biloxi City Council, and the proposal would come with a toll.
Representatives of United Bridge Partners, a private company based in Denver, said they could start immediately once the plan is approved by the council. The company says the bridge could be built in four years.
The city didn’t take any action on the proposal.
The four-lane bridge would cost $150 million by itself. The total cost would be up to $30 million more, with the acquisition of homes for the right of way and the widening and improvements of Popp’s Ferry Road from Pass Road to Riverview Drive, said Ryan Dolan, vice president of business development for United Bridge Partners.
Construction, operation and maintenance of the new bridge would be paid for by the company, he said, which would recoup the cost with tolls.
Dolan said other companies also have made proposals to Biloxi to build a bridge.
Doug Witt, president and CEO of United Bridge Partners, said his company has been working with Biloxi on the proposal for quite awhile.
“From our prospective, We’re ready to go, and I mean with 100% certainty,” he said. “And when I speak of certainty, I mean 100% fully funded tomorrow and when I talk about certainty I mean 100% certain in terms of delivery of a new bridge by 2026.”
Cost of the toll
Dolan said the company wants to minimize the cost of tolls and be “community friendly.”
The initial toll would start at $1 to $1.25 to cross the bridge, he said. School buses, police, fire and other public vehicles would not be charged.
For those who cross the bridge often, a flat rate between $30-$35 a month would be offered, he said.
They also are looking into a school commuter discount for those using the bridge to get to and from the school.
Tolls would be collected using an all electronic toll system, he said, with a transponder or sticker system that automatically would deduct the cost. For those who don’t want to use that system, he said an invoice will be mailed to the owner of the vehicle, similar to the system of license plate identification used in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and many other areas of the country.
Why tolls?
Councilman Paul Tisdale said the reaction to a toll bridge was met with immediate opposition after it was proposed Tuesday.
“I heard late this afternoon from several constituents letting me know they would never use a tolled Popp’s Ferry bridge,” he said.
Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich said he’s hoping to get 50% of the funding through conventional federal and state funds, but that isn’t guaranteed and could take years. Gilich said the city knows the cost of the project will continue to rise.
Witt said his company’s proposal won’t be at the same price three or six months from now because of inflation and other issues.
It could cost $200 million or more if the city waits three years, he said.
Finding the labor to go ahead and do this — “That’s no small issue either,” he said.
Project details
The new bridge will be built to the east of the existing drawbridge, Dolan said. Once construction is done, the existing bridge will be demolished and the debris will be used to create an off-shore reef.
The bridge will have a 220-foot horizontal clearance for boats and no draw, which is one of the biggest drawbacks of the existing bridge. It was completed in 1979 and the bridge frequently gets stuck up or down — nearly 100 times already this year, Gilich said.
If the city signs a contract with United Bridge Partners, the company would handle routine cleaning and maintenance along with major irepairs caused by a hurricane or if another barge takes out a span, as happened in 2009.
The plan calls for about 80 homes along Popp’s Ferry Road to be acquired and demolished, Dolan said, although the company is doing a study to see if it can minimize that number.
More construction phases
Biiloxi owns the bridge rather than the state, part of the reason the city is having trouble getting money for a new bridge, Dolan said. Biloxi is limited by the amount of money it can borrow and is competing with projects around the country for federal funds, he said, with only about 10% of those projects typically getting funded.
The mayor said the city could include the cost of extending Popp’s Ferry Road from Pass Road to the beach, but is waiting on some funding to complete that $15 million project.
Another phase would build a bridge to connect Popp’s Ferry Road to Interstate 10, which could provide a four-land road from the interstate all the way to the beach and close to the Coast Coliseum and the proposed $1 billion Universal Music casino on the former Broadwater site.
Dolan said his company has offered to do a feasibility study, including environmental and traffic study, to get the ball rolling on that phase.
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 12:16 PM.
