(The following article by Michael Newsom was posted on the Biloxi Sun Herald website on January 27.)
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. — Against the backdrop of the broken Bay St. Louis bridge Thursday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta gave the state good marks on its pace to rebuild bridges.
He equated the rebuilding process to “peeling an onion.” He said every step in the process presents new challenges and opportunities for transportation officials. Mineta toured the bridge and also took a rail tour along the CSX railroad tracks from Gulfport with officials from the company, MDOT and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor.
He said the value of both the rail bridge and highway bridge before the storm behooves all involved to work fast following the destruction.
“The result was chaos, increased costs and a tremendous amount of inconvenience,” Mineta said. “These were all good reasons to work fast to rebuild these routes. We have done that.”
Mineta said two lanes of the Bay St. Louis bridge could be open by May 2007 and all four could be open by November 2007.
He said the big challenge will be to secure the federal funds, but he said his office hopefully will pick up the tab on both U.S. 90 bridges once bidding is done.
When asked about the controversy over the design of the Biloxi Bay bridge, Mineta said decisions on both bridges are to be left up to local officials. MDOT recommended a six-lane bridge with multiple breakdown lanes, but some local elected officials want a four-lane bridge. Some also have said the bridge should include a drawbridge; MDOT is planning a high-rise instead.
Southern District Transportation Commissioner Wayne Brown said MDOT is finding it hard to secure large contracting firms to carry out the work. Mineta’s office has waived some contracting rules to make the process easier.
Brown said the decision on whether to include a drawbridge will be left to the Coast Guard, which has control over bridges along the Back Bay. He said if necessary, MDOT could rebid the work to design the bridge as a drawbridge.
Taylor, who rode with Mineta on the boat and rail tours, said he believes a compromise will be reached on the Biloxi Bay bridge.
“It is a tough call,” Taylor said. “Existing business can be handled by the high-rise, but if they get some bigger ships, or Northrop Grumman wants to build bigger ships, or they start building oil rigs there again, they are going to need a drawbridge.”