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During the 1996 legislative session, coast legislators sponsored a bill to fund three four-lane north/south connectors in Harrison County between I-10 and Highway 90. In June 1996, MDOT hired the Michael Baker Jr. Inc., engineering firm to determine which roads in counties with gambling needed improvements the most and prioritize them.
The study process included meetings with MDOT officials and local officials, field observations, traffic forecasting, capacity analysis, project prioritization and development of budgetary coast estimates for the recommended priority list.
On May 16, 1996, the Biloxi Planning Commission selected the Cedar Lake to Rodenberg route as its top priority for improvements to the transportation. The Commission’s second choice for the future was a route to connect with the Woolmarket exit to Popp’s Ferry Road. According to the official minutes of the meeting, this was after, Joe Lusteck, a consultant for the City of Biloxi, on the Vision 2020 Comprehensive plan told the Commission that the Department of Transportation had stated a preference that the Popp’s Ferry Road bridge be connected to the Woolmarket interchange on I-10 and has already budgeted $14,000,000 for expenditure in the next three years for this route.
In June 18, 1996, the City of Biloxi received the results of a comprehensive plan for improvement of the city’s transportation system dubbed Vision 2020. The Cedar Lake to Rodenberg route was designated Biloxi’s top priority. The Woolmarket to Popp’s Ferry route was selected for a future route. The study also identified an east/west route as a top priority.
In December 1996, the Baker Study produced a list of 37 projects statewide, ranked from 1 to 37 in order of their recommended priority. A budgetary cost estimate was developed for each project. The total cost of these projects was estimated to be $1.1 billion. These projects included the Gulfport and Biloxi North/South Connectors.
BILOXI NORTH/SOUTH CONNECTOR-Funded by GRP
A SUN HERALD news article dated January 31, 1997, indicated that the House Transportation Committee voted for the construction of a $49.7 million four-lane connector in Biloxi. The bill did not specify where the highway would intersect I-10.
A SUN HERALD news article dated February 6, 1997, indicated that Senator Tommy Gollott, who sponsored a bill in the Senate, to fund a Biloxi four-lane connector, specified that the highway would intersect I-10 at the Woolmarket Exit and that Senator Gollott owned property north of I-10 that would jump in value if the bill was passed. Senator Gollott’s bill ignored the findings of the City of Biloxi’s Planning Commission recommendations and the recommendations of Biloxi’s Comprehensive Plan called Vision 2020 for which Biloxi had just paid $160,000.
After the above disclosure, a SUN HERALD news article dated February 12, 1997, reflected that Representative Bobby Shows stated that he would kill the bill if the final compromise requires that the four-lane intersect at the Woolmarket exit. Shows was quoted as saying, “We’ve never (specified an exit) before. We’ve left it with the state Department of Transportation. Shows probably did not know that MDOT already had a preference for the Woolmarket exit.
A SUN HERALD dated February 21, 1997, reflected that Senator Tommy Gollott had dropped the specification of the Woolmarket exit from the Senate Bill for the Biloxi Connector. The article pointed out that Gollott owned about 30 acres north of the Woolmarket exit. In addition, the article pointed out that a company that Gollott was president of owned 47 adjacent acres.
A SUN HERALD news article dated March 31, 1997, revealed that the Senate had voted to change a 1994 program that earmarked 25 percent of casino taxes each year until 2002 for road construction in counties with casinos. The expiration date of 2002 was extended until 2012.
A SUN HERALD news article dated April 2, 1997, revealed that the House also approved the same bill.
A review of news articles and quotes from lawmakers makes it abundantly clear that the law was changed in order to fund the Biloxi Connector as a four-lane, ground level highway and that this connector was a top priority project for the state.
The MDOT Stall Begins
A SUN HERALD news article dated 11/18/97, titled, “Company to help choose road path,” bylined, “North-south link still years away,” reveals the following:
The state Department of Transportation will hire a private consulting firm to help pick the best location for a new highway to link U.S. op and Interstate 10 in Biloxi.
Highway Commission Ronnie Shows said Monday that MDOT could hire the consultant by January for between $150,000 and $300,000. The firm will spend about six months studying possible sites between Cowan-Lorraine Road and Interstate 110.
“If we didn’t hire a consultant, out people couldn’t get to it for three or four years,” said Shows.
Shows reminds motorists that the four-lane highway won’t offer any quick fixes: The road likely will take six to seven years to build. A big question is did shows hire the consultant, how much was the consultant paid, and what benefit did the taxpayers get since the hiring of additional consultants was to come in the future. 5 |
