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The Mississippi Gulf Coast, from Ocean Springs to Bay St. Louis, is at the most critical crossroads probably in its entire history. The Coast's devastation is indescribable. Only through first hand experience can one truly grasp the reality of the devastation. However, there is great promise for the future. But, the right choices have to be made the first time due to the enormous costs of rebuilding. There are several major, needed projects that have to be done and all of the available funds can’t be expended on one project. Besides housing, the most critical need is for a functioning transportation system.
Harrison County’s neglected transportation system was approximately two decades behind before Hurricane Katrina. MDOT has never had a plan for improving the transportation system and with the advent of gaming in 1992 the system had become congested to gridlocked most of the time. The Legislature sought to give some relief when it passed the Gaming Road Program in 1994 and extended it in 1997. MDOT spent all of the Gaming Road Program funds on a few projects and never built the critical north-south connectors called for in the legislation.
Beginning in 1998, MDOT has made empty promise after empty promise to build these connectors. However, MDOT’s proposals, like most of their proposals, were exorbitantly costly. MDOT then claimed not to have the funds, but kept saying it was waiting for federal funds. However, as seen from the above, MDOT has received billions in federal funds.
The Gaming Road Program was extended again bringing more funds to MDOT. Still, MDOT turned to other questionable ways to raise money, such as having government entities to issue bonds with the commitment to repay these bonds from future federal funds and the 1987 Four Lane Program.
Citizens and public officials in Harrison County tried to get MDOT to build some basic and affordable roads. MDOT refused to listen. The HCTC even developed an overall traffic plan. But MDOT was not interested and apparently played a roll in having Jeff Taylor, the architect of the plan removed from his job.
After the Hurricane, world renowned transportation experts came to the Gulf Coast and assessed the needs here. They called for a transportation plan, similar to the HCTA plan, and called for the type roads that citizens and public officials have been calling for years. These experts reviewed the MDOT plans and said MDOT was wasting hundreds of millions of dollars. In my opinion, MDOT shamed Mississippi before these world class experts.
It was most difficult to evacuate the Coast in timely fashion before Katrina, now it would be impossible to completely evacuate. During Hurricane Ivan in 2004, it took coast people 4-6 hours to get as far as Hattiesburg. Some turned around and came back. Fortunately, Ivan missed Mississippi.
There is no doubt that the Ivan experience inhibited some people from evacuating for Katrina. I left for Katrina. It took me three or four hours to go a distance of about 30 miles. Every road, two lane or four lane was a parking lot. I was stuck on a rural two-lane road with thousands of others with a category 4-5 hurricane 12-14 hours away. I started to come back, but I was separated from some of my family and could not communicate with them, so we kept going. There were others who returned to their homes. A functioning transportation system is not only for convenience and the economy, but is an issue of life and death as well.
It is not only Coast citizens and public officials who finds fault with MDOT. Columnist Sid Salter, in a November 6, 2005 column, titled, “MDOT an unchained spending machine,” said:
It’s a state agency that for the last several years has operated as an unchained, out-of-control spending machine at a time when the rest of state government-including public health and public education at all levels-has been on state fiscal bread-and-water rations….
In the last four years (Fiscal Years 2002 to 2005) total construction and maintenance spending by MDOT has actually decreased by 0.80 percent. Yet, over that same time frame, total spending by MDOT on things other than highway construction and maintenance has increased 32.6 percent.
Did you get that? Spending less on fixing roads, and more on other stuff. Too bad the taxpayers can’t drive across other stuff….
At some point, Mississippi’s legislative leadership is going to decide to start running MDOT instead of running from it. For the taxpayers, that day should some sooner than later.
That day is now.
MDOT
is a government agency that for far too long has had far too much power.
Power concentrated into the hands of just two or three people and I
believe this explains the “arrogance of power” as depicted throughout
this article. The answer is
MDOT is not responsible to anyone and almost nothing. This is
bad public policy and has led to much harm in Harrison County and the
state. At this
critical time, on the Gulf Coast, MDOT seems intent on pursuing
actions that will do irreparable harm to the Gulf Coast. MDOT, as a
government entity, is inherently flawed. Therefore, it is necessary for
the Legislature, as the first order of business in the 2006 Legislative
Session, to bring MDOT under control and make it responsible and
accountable to someone. MDOT should be put under the Governor who would appoint an executive director, with the concurrence of the Senate, which executive director would have stringent professional qualifications
In the alternative, citizens of the Gulf Coast may not have any recourse other than to ask some of its highly qualified attorneys to file a federal lawsuit predicated on the “denial of equal treatment” of Harrison County citizens by MDOT and other grounds. 22 - END About the Authors Royce Hignight is a long time Coast resident and retired FBI Agent who, after retirement, has spent a considerable amount of time examining the area's transportation needs and participating in citizen groups interested in resolving Biloxi's transportation problems. During his long tenure with the FBI, Hignight investigated government corruption in Mississippi. He is written "Mississippi's Open Wound" that outlines his observations on why Mississippi continues to see repeated problems over corruption. Contact the Author: mailto:roycehignight@netscape.net Keith
Burton owns and operates
GulfCoastNews.com and served four years on the Biloxi Planning Commission
in the mid 1990's during the time the VISION 2020 plan was developed that
called for a bridge connecting Rodenberg and Cedar Lake. He is an
award-winning journalist with over 25 years professional news experience
including professional work in radio, television, newspapers and the
Internet. He also writes on a freelance basis for a variety of national
automotive and boating magazines. |
