(The following article by Lora Hines was posted on the Jackson Clarion-Ledger website on June 8.)
OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. — State and local officials on Wednesday said they hope lawmakers still can find a way to fund relocation of the Coast’s CSX Railroad line even though an estimated $700 million earmarked for the project in a hurricane relief bill has been dropped.
Money for the controversial project was out of the $94.5 billion bill that also would pay for the war in Iraq, said Jenny Manley, spokeswoman for Sen. Thad Cochran, on Wednesday. She would not say anything about possible alternative funding options.
Pete Smith, spokesman for Gov. Haley Barbour, also said little about possible alternatives to fund the railroad relocation, which some federal lawmakers have criticized as pork-barrel spending. CSX already paid $300 million to repair storm damage.
Cochran and Sen. Trent Lott, along with other state officials, including Barbour, want to build another east-west corridor using the railroad right-of-way. The plan has been discussed for years.
“We’re still working with our congressional delegation and the Congress,” Smith said without elaborating.
Senate and House negotiators had not reached an agreement on the bill late Wednesday. They were at odds over how to allocate $5.2 billion in federal block grant money to Gulf Coast states. Barbour lobbied House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., by phone for a share of the money for his state.
Anthony Topazi, president and CEO of Mississippi Power, has been working on Coast transportation reconstruction since Hurricane Katrina destroyed and damaged many roads and bridges. He is among those advocating for another east-west road.
“The relocation of Highway 90 to the CSX right-of-way remains a vital element to the ultimate recovery of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” he said. “Hopefully, we will find a way to achieve this objective.”
Wayne Brown, who represents the Coast as its Mississippi Department of Transportation commissioner, said he had not yet heard money earmarked for the project had been scrapped.
“Ouch,” he said. “I try to be thankful for everything that’s been done. But if you look at the transportation needs on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and you see the huge number of casinos, condominiums and apartments that are planned, we (can’t) stick our heads in the sand.”
Brown said anticipated Coast development will lead to more traffic congestion and resemble Destin, Fla., if the state doesn’t get money it needs to build another east-west road. “It’s a nice place,” he said. “But when you go there, you sit in the car.”
Vincent Creel, spokesman for Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway, said federal officials have challenged the Coast to rebuild better. But the Coast needs another east-west road to achieve that, he said.
“It’s a shame some lawmakers view this (project) as a way to take advantage of a situation,” Creel said. “After the hurricane, with Highway 90 out, we were in turmoil.”
Ocean Springs resident Malcolm Gilbert said he would have liked to see the railroad moved after the storm. But he thinks $700 million is too much to pay. “I’m not sure it would be worth that much money.”