City and county crews were on U.S. 90 in west Biloxi today, clearing sand from turning bays, parking bays and medians as part of an effort to remove as much sand as possible before the busy Memorial Day weekend.
It marks the third time this year that Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich has directed city crews to work near U.S. 90, either to haul away sand that had blown onto the highway from the beach or edge medians. Historically, work in the medians of U.S. 90 has been left to the Mississippi Department of Transportation and Harrison County.
“It’s not a matter of who’s responsible at this point,” Gilich said. “The fact is, it needs to be cleaned up, and I appreciate that Supervisor Beverly Martin has a crew down there working with our city crews to get this sand cleaned up in time for the weekend.
“I don’t think the visitors worry about whose responsibility it is; they just want if off the highway and out of the turning lanes and parking bays.”
Gilich said he wanted crews to remain on the job until Friday.
Biloxi Police are asking motorists to use caution in work areas, which require intermittent lane closures.
See photos of the sand removal crews
Really! Oak Street all paved north of CSX
“I am so thankful that I had loyal customers who have been making their way through all this since August,” says Sue Nguyen-Torjusen of Le Bakery, as she watched paving crews apply the long-anticipated permanent paving outside her bakery on Oak Street this morning.
“And now, the great news is that we have pavement, finally, north of Oak Street,” says Nguyen-Torjusen, whose bakery’s savory treats were touted today by VisitMississippi.org.
The paving was also welcome news for residents and a number of other nearby businesses: MGN Convenience Store at Division and Oak, and Biloxi Lugger restaurant off Eighth Street.
The biggest challenges on Oak for contractor Oscar Renda were having to install pipes as deep as 25 feet in some areas in moist soil, which was susceptible to cave ins. The Oak Street work represents some of the deepest cuts in the entire citywide infrastructure work.
Oscar Renda now hopes to begin paving on Division Street in the next week to 10 days and hopes to have reached Crawford Street within six weeks.
See photos of the paving
News and notes
Farmers Market fest: Cake, cupcakes and other treats will join fresh produce, jams and jellies at the Biloxi Farmers Market Thursday morning  To read details on the the Downtown Farmers Market Festival, click here.
Preservation awards: This week’s Preservation in May installment takes place at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art on Thursday, beginning at 5:30, when the city presents the Biloxi Historical Preservation Awards. Visitors also will have a chance to see the Ohr’s new exhibition, “Our Love Affair with Baseball.” To see the entire Preservation in May schedule, click here. Â For a preview of the baseball exhibit, click here.
Weekly report, Part 2: The weekly report now includes the Community Development review for last week. To see the departments of Fire, Police and Community Development reviews, click here.
