The Baker Study identified 37 projects with a total cost of $1.158 billion and ranked the projects in order of priority. The study identified the Eastern North-South Connector as number 14 in priority. The study budgeted $49.7 million (not $200 million) for the Eastern North-South Connector and designated it as a four-lane facility with full control access. The study indicates that the goal of the improvements under the Gaming Road Program is to have acceptable “levels of service” (LOS) in the year 2020. In regard to Highway 90 area, the study says: “It would require a general widening of US 90 to six or more lanes to achieve a desirable level of service, but such a widening is not considered to be feasible due to aesthetic and public opinion considerations on this scenic oceanfront route.” The study went on to say that to augment improvements on US 90, the study team recommends that public transit be strongly emphasized in planning effort to better accommodate east-west travel along the coast. What the above means is that a six-lane, elevated, limited access expressway is not going to solve the problem of congestion in Biloxi. It will, more than likely, exacerbate the problem. If a six-lane highway were operating at anywhere near the planned capacity of 75,000 vehicles per day, and they were dumped onto the already overloaded Highway 90, it would be total gridlock. Other solutions are required. There is a much better solution and it is doable. |
