|
Mayor Holloway appointed the Citizens Corridor Committee with the concurrence of the City Council. Jay Teasdale was appointed as Chairman. Subsequently, Paige Gutierrez from Tom Wall’s Ward was selected by Councilman Tom Wall because his ward did not have a representative. Subsequently, Teasdale resigned and requested that I be appointed to take his place as a member.
The Committee met fourteen times, beginning on 5/12/99 through approximately September 2001. Several MDOT representatives attended almost every meeting and dominated these meetings. No other alternatives were considered, as had been the original intent of the first resolution, to develop a plan that best suited the needs of Biloxi. However, MS Gutierrez and I repeatedly tried to bring up alternatives to the MDOT proposals.
Elevated Six-Lane Vs Ground-level four-lane
One of the first items that MS Gutierrez and I tried to bring to the forefront was what had come out of all of the public meetings, set forth above. This was the issue of whether or not the highway should be elevated. The public had overwhelmingly rejected a six-lane, overhead expressway they deemed as overly destructive to neighborhoods and detrimental to economic development.
These MDOT officials maintained that, MDOT was “mandated” to build these types of highways. At first MDOT tried to say the Legislature mandated the overhead, six-lane expressway. However, when the Gaming Road Program statute was reviewed, it was learned that the statute does not specify an elevated six-lane highway. However, the Baker Study, on which the Gaming Road Program was based, defined the Biloxi Connector as a, “new four-lane facility with full control of access.” The budgeted cost was $49.7 million
These MDOT officials also maintained that this type road was required by the Federal Highway Commission (FHC). However, I talked with the FHC representative and asked him what requirements the FHC placed on the proposed road. He said none. The only requirement, of the FHC, is that any specific type road has to be built to federal specifications for that type road. In other words, if MDOT decides to build a two-lane road, it has to be built to two-lane road specifications; a four-lane to four-lane specifications etc., but MDOT can build any type road that it wants to.
Under intense questioning about elevated versus ground level type roads, the lead MDOT representative made the statement, “MDOT doesn’t build hamburger highways.” By “hamburger highways,” he was referring to the ground level highway that the vast majority of Biloxians wanted and needed. MDOT appeared to never appreciate or care about the needs of local citizens such as being able to get back and forth to work, hurricane evacuation and other activities. MDOT only saw a need to move tourists and others from I 10 to Highway 90.
Citizens Corridor Committee Public Meetings
On 10/11/99, the Citizens Corridor Committee sponsored a public meeting to get citizen input on the location and type of Biloxi Connector Highway. According to a SUN HERALD article dated 10/12/99, titled, “Sunkist meeting favors Cedar Lake:
More than 100 people turned out Monday night to give the Citizens’ Corridor Committee their opinion on where the multilane highway should be built. Though no formal vote was taken, a majority of the people at Monday’s event at Sunkist Country Club expressed support for a road that connects with the Cedar Lake exit of I-10.
The article quoted Biloxi native and longtime businesswoman Liz Joachim who said, in regard to, MDOT’s plan to build and elevated six-lane, elevated expressway:
We do not want Atlanta to New York. I hope MDOT will get the message we are not interested in getting people out here so fast. We want to get them in here slowly and let them appreciate why we love this city and why we want to live her. You overlook the beauty when you are traveling so fast.
Mrs. Joachim’s sentiments were representative of the majority of the citizens in the meeting as indicated by an ovation to her comments.
On 10/12/99, the Citizens Corridor Committee sponsored a second public meeting on the south side of the Bay, in regard to the location of the Biloxi Connector. A SUN HERALD article stated:
About 160 residents attended the second of back-to-back meetings called by the Citizens’ Corridor Committee…Most who attended Tuesday’s meeting at Beauvoir Elementary School agreed that a Cedar Lake corridor is the best way to move traffic. 7 |
