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On Wednesday November 2, 2005, MDOT bulldozed and may have even misled Mayor Connie Moran of Oceans Springs, MS, into accepting a six-lane bridge as a replacement for the Highway 90 four-lane bridge between Ocean Springs and Biloxi, while other unnamed so-called business leaders, and un-named politicians, including Mayor A. J. Holloway, stood by. The SUN HERALD apparently, has once again shamed itself in the apparent lack of forthright news coverage of the whole affair.
The event on November 2, 2005, as set forth in a SUN HERALD article dated 11/3/05, by reporter Karen Nelson stated:
“Mayors from Biloxi, Gulfport and Ocean Springs, state transportation officials, business leaders and those helping lead the reconstruction of the Coast met Wednesday about the Ocean Springs-Biloxi bridge and agreed on the structure and the route it will take.”
The article further stated, “Mayor Connie Moran said she was pleased with the outcome of Wednesday’s meeting.” In other words, the article appeared to be spun to make it look like every thing was hunky dory with the meeting results.
The WLOX Television News provided a far different version of what occurred at the meeting as compared to the SUN HERALD version;
(Mayor Connie) Moran didn’t want to see just any bridge replace the mess sitting in the water. She wanted one that enhanced the new charrette designs recently proposed for Ocean Springs. And that’s what she kept telling MDOT every time the agency brought the bridge.
“Work with us, “She told transportation officials. “Lets not throw all these ideas from the charrette aside. Let’s try to incorporate as many as we can.”
For awhile, Mayor Moran opposed MDOT’s plan to build a taller bridge over the same footprint that just crumbled. But after meeting with MDOT, Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and representatives of the Governor’s Commission on Rebuilding, she changed her mind. Moran agreed to the new bridge concept in large part because it will have landscaping, better lighting, and a bike path.
Just a few days later, the CLARION LEDGER did an article dated 11/8/05, titled, “MDOT not listening,” revealed that on Monday (November 7, 2005) Mayor Connie Moran had spoken to a luncheon in sponsored by Mississippi State University’s John C. Stennis Insititute of Government. The article stated:
“The biggest challenge facing Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran may be the communicating with state transportation officials while rebuilding roads in the Mississippi Gulf Coast Town.”
The article stated that Mayor Moran said, “The Mississippi Department of Transportation has not welcomed all community suggestions about rebuilding the bridges connecting Ocean Springs to Biloxi…” Mayor Moran went on to say, “I don’t think MDOT paid any attention to the (Commissions) recommendations.”
Evidently, she was referring to the experts who gave opinions, during the Governor’s Mississippi Renewal Forum, that MDOT’s plans for building overhead, interstate highway type bridges and connectors between I 10 and Highway 90 were detrimental to the communities and a waste of taxpayer’s money.
Dick Hall, Central District Transportation Commissioner who was at the luncheon said:
MDOT did not heed the desires of local officials. He said he believes federal officials would waive requirements to rebuild the road in the same location and environmental studies.
The CLARION LEDGER, apparently inspired by Mayor Moran’s speech, did an editorial dated 11/9/05. The editorial stated, “Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran is not alone in being bewildered-and somewhat angered by the actions of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.
The editorial stated:
“MDOT wanted to ram through a bridge that was too big, too expensive and too ugly—with concrete ramps soaring over the scenic Mississippi Gulf Coast towns’ beaches, she said. MDOT ignored the wishes of the local people, the architects and planners of Gov. Haley Barbour’s commission to rebuild the Coast and even the House Transportation Committee chairman, she said, raising the question: To whom is MDOT responsible?”
A big, fat, ugly, expensive bridge at Ocean Springs: Sounds like MDOT itself-big, fat, ugly, expensive, with an unaccountable commission that is out of control. But that is what the state usually gets from this archaic system of electing politicians to run a professional agency.
What is the explanation of why Mayor Moran had to go to go all the way to Jackson to get her views in the media, regarding the bridge and MDOT? Why the differences in the CLARION LEDGER articles and WLOX’s verses the SUN HERALD account of the same 11/02/05 meeting. These differences raise a credibility issue with the SUN HERALD article.
Mayor Moran’s persistence continues, while Mayor A.J. Holloway continues to waffle, as set forth in the following SUN HERALD news article dated, “11/23/05, titled, “Moran, Holloway meet on MDOT bridge plan,” which revealed:
While a state agency moves steadily toward rebuilding the U.S. 90 bridge over Biloxi Bay…Mayor Connie Moran continues working to reshape the project.
She met with Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway…to try to get the Mississippi Department of Transportation to consider alternatives…
Moran wrote a letter supporting the bridge Nov. 3, which she now regrets. “We’re at that point right now to make that decision,” Moran said. “That’s why it was frustrating to be rushed into these kinds of decisions that you make once every 50 or 75 years.
I mentioned previously that the Design Build construction method was a “red flag” for bad public policy because Design Build undermines accountability and oversight. Pushing, rushing and pressuring public officials into taking some hasty action is also a “red flag” for potential wrongdoing. I have seen this technique used many times. I always counsel public officials to never let anyone rush them into making a rash decision. There are almost no decisions in government that require hasty decisions, including the decision, on this bridge, as will be revealed further down. The SUN HERALD article continued:
Moran said she favors a high-rise bridge with breakdown lanes, which would eliminate two major factors that clogged traffic before. But she thinks a four-lane bridge with two breakdown lanes would be sufficient.
Holloway agreed to discuss it with MDOT, but made no further commitment to Moran. He wants a bridge built as quickly as possible to reconnect the peninsula and restabilize the casino industry.
We’re going to connect the six-lane bridge to six lanes on the east and six lanes on the west,” Wayne Brown said. “For some reason people think its just four lanes.”
U.S. 90, in front of Biloxi’s Casino Row, has four lanes plus two continuous turning lanes until Oak Street. In ocean springs, there is a four-lane section from the end of the bridge to the Crooked Feather monument. The highway just beyond was widened to six lanes around busy Washington Avenue intersection.
I will return to the Wayne Brown, “six-lane discussion” further down, but for now will continue with the bridge decision that MDOT, apparently, was rushing to get all of the concerned government entities to hastily make in favor of the MDOT plan.
On 11/23/05, WLOX TV reported that Wayne Brown said:
“We’re out of money.” And according to… (Brown), “being out of money means MDOT must postpone its two most pressing hurricane recover projects.”
“We’re having to take some hard looks,” Brown said. “One of the things we’re unfortunately having to do is delay the Biloxi Bridge and the Bay of St. Louis bridge until January.
Originally, contracts to clear bridge debris and rebuild those bridges were supposed to be signed in December. Now, that’s on hold. It’s another delay for storm startled south Mississippians like Sylvia Stanley who shake their heads in disbelief every time they see the crumbled Biloxi bridge.
“Its very important,” she said of the bridge. “It’s our communications with the rest of the world, without going all the way to Gulfport to get there.”
According to Brown, “It just takes time for the money to work through the pipeline. And all of a sudden, we find ourselves up against a wall.” …Brown said, “a one month delay on new bridge work would give potential builders more time to design better, more cost effective bridges…”
A GULF COAST NEWS news article dated 11/24/05, titled Biloxi Mayor Disappointed Over MDOT Delay on Biloxi-Ocean Springs Bridge,” asked some pertinent questions as follows:
Just what is going on with Wayne Brown,…?” With no warning Wednesday and after weeks of talking about rebuilding the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge, Brown announced that his department was now out of money from Katrina repairs to date and needed a federal infusion of cash before bids could go out to contractors.
This news was a complete surprise to everyone, including Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway and the local newspaper which had just interviewed Brown a day earlier. It seems that Brown didn’t know when he was interviewed by the newspaper that his agency was out of money.
A SUN HERALD article dated 11/24/05, titled “Bridges on Hold until feds offer more help,” reveals the following:
Katrina has drained Mississippi’s highway coffers, and projects to rebuild U.S. 90 bridges will have to wait until Congress comes through with more money, state transportation officials said Wednesday (11/23/05).”
“We’re out of money,” said…Wayne Brown. “The pot is empty. Everything we can stop, we’ve stopped. We’ve also stopped our debris cleaning.”
Local leaders, anxious to see traffic arteries reopened, were frustrated by the news on the bridges Wednesday. “Its utter frustration,” said Bay St. Louis Mayor Eddie Favre. “We didn’t know ‘til now that we were going to be out of money to award the contract? I think it is kind of ridiculous. I just don’t understand it.”
“Until we get connectors, it’s not going to do a tremendous amount of good to get businesses open,” Favre said.
On 12/6/05, Wayne Brown attended a Governor’ Renewal Forum function meeting at Biloxi City Hall that numerous public officials were invited to attend. GULF COAST NEWS did an article that contained several bomb shells titled, “MDOT Commissioner Cannot Say When New Bridges Will Be Built,” which revealed the following information:
When pressed by GCN to get specific regarding dates for work, Brown admitted he really doesn’t know when the bridges will be ready and would not commit to a specific date. Brown also said that he didn’t know when exactly MDOT would be ready to issue contracts, but hopes that will occur in January.
Brown’s waffling on the specifics of these critically needed bridges portends some difficult times ahead for the Coast’s redevelopment. The two bridges, at either end of Harrison County are vital if the Coast’s tourism industry is to recover quickly. Without them, Harrison and Hancock County are practically on dead-end roads.
Brown also said that his agency is still planning to build the bridges under what is called a “design-build” contract…This design-build process has never been allowed in Mississippi, nor has MDOT ever issued such a contract. Brown said, “We have never done this before.”
(Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran and Councilwoman Julia Weaver spoke at the meeting.) Ocean Springs officials had been led to believe that the bridge proposed by MDOT was required by federal regulations. But Ocean Springs officials later learned that the federal requirements did not exist when the city’s officials signed a letter supporting MDOT plans. One Ocean Springs official noted, after the meeting, that they feel they have been lied to.
The MISSISSIPPI PRESS, Pascagoula, MS., also reported on the 12/6/05 meeting and a Tuesday night meeting of the Oceans Springs City Council. The article revealed:
At Tuesday’s meeting, (Wayne) Brown…said that the guidelines are not federally mandated, but are part of MDOT’s membership in the American Association of Transportation. To access federal funds, Brown said the department has to build to the standards associated with the association. “It’s not mandated, but if we are going to take their money we are going to do it that way,” Brown said.”
(This writer has never heard of federal highway funds being contingent on meeting some requirements of any association. This Wayne Brown statement was made during the time in which Ocean Springs officials had made the statement that they believed they had been misled about the Federal Highway Commission mandating such a bridge, when the agreement was signed by them )
At the ocean Springs Board of Alderman meeting Tuesday night, Weaver moved to write a letter to the Federal Highway Administration, state legislators and the governor’s office to voice displeasure over the bridge proposal.
The Board approved the letter with a 4-to 3 vote….They believed the city signed off on the bridge proposal based on misinformation. Ocean Springs officials say they were misinformed when they agreed to the existing bridge proposal, because they understood that the six-lane bridge was federally mandated and that federal funds would no longer be available if they continued to stall the process.
On 12/14/05,
the Biloxi City Council unanimously voted for a resolution that endorsed
MDOT's proposal for a six-lane bridge that has two additional breadown
lanes and bicycle lanes. The vote came in spite of a plea made by Mayor
Connie Moran and several Biloxi citizens to not endorse the MDOT PLan.
Mayor Moran said, She was under the impression when she signed off on the
plan that it was a mandate from the FHA," according to a SUN HERALD
articlel dated 12/14/05. Royce Hignight also spoke about MDOT'slack
credability and pointed out MDOT has been supposed to build the Biloxi
Connector since 1997.
As can be seen from the above, the Coast and Harrison County have been jerked around by MDOT like a yo-yo on a string, and are left twisting in the wind once again, as to when or whether or not those bridges that are so vital to the economy of the entire coastal area as well as the entire state, will be built. As noted previously, I stated there would be more discussion on six-lane highways and bridges.
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