Mardi Gras weekend has arrived, with two parades in downtown Biloxi on Saturday, leading to the Gulf Coast Carnival Association parade on Tuesday.
Biloxi Police, mindful of the tens of thousands of paradegoers in downtown Biloxi, have announced the traffic plans for the parades, and this year the city is publishing the hourly milestones of the annual Mardi Gras traffic plan. Keep in mind, of course, the times are subject to minor adjustments, depending on crowd and conditions.
“We always want people to come and enjoy themselves at special events in Biloxi, especially Mardi Gras,” says Biloxi Police Chief John Miller, “but we also want everyone to have a safe time. We’ll have plenty of officers along the route to help people find their way. We’re providing as much information as we can to help people plan.
“Make sure to give yourself plenty of time before and after the parade,” Miller added. “Arrive early, be patient, be aware of your surroundings and have a great time. And then after the parade, don’t be in a hurry. Be patient in the heavy traffic, especially after Gulf Coast Carnival.”
Here are the traffic plans. Times are subject to revision, depending on traffic and crowds:
Second Liners parade
The parade is scheduled to begin at noon Saturday and should take about two hours to complete the route. Here are key elements of the traffic plan:
10 a.m. – Parade units begin to gather at Nichols Drive and Division Street, lining up on Division, facing west, at Nichols.
11:45 a.m. – Parade route shuts down to vehicular traffic
Noon – Parade rolls west on Division from Nichols, south on Caillavet Street to Howard Avenue, east on Howard to Reynoir Street, north on Reynoir to MLK Boulevard to Main Street, north on Main to Esters Boulevard, east on Esters to Busch Park, where parade disbands. Police will open route as end of parade passes their area and roadway is clear.
See the Second Liners parade route
Krewe of Neptune parade
The parade is scheduled to begin at 5:40 p.m. Saturday and should take about two hours to complete the route. Here are key elements of the traffic plan:
8:30 a.m. – Police units escort floats from Coast Coliseum to Esters Boulevard and allow units to stage facing eastbound between Main and Caillavet streets. At the same time, Esters will be closed to routine traffic, except Coast Transit Authority buses, and the route will be monitored.
9 a.m. – Officers maintain Esters as floats staging-area only.
4:30 p.m. – U.S. 90 converted to two lanes between Bellman Street and G.E. Ohr Street, with officers posted along route.
5 p.m. – Parade route closed to vehicular traffic
5:40 p.m. – Parade rolls. Traffic units stage at Bellman, with Public Works workers, in preparation to completely re-open U.S. 90.
6:30 p.m. – Last parade unit turns north on Lameuse Street. Police stop traffic on U.S. 90, and Public Works begins picking up cones and barricades. All lanes of U.S. 90 re-opened to traffic.
7 p.m. – Last parade unit turns west on MLK. All traffic entering Bayview northbound will be forced east or turned around until all parade elements are off the route.
7:30 p.m. – Last parade unit crosses CSX railway at Caillavet.
8:30 p.m. – First parade unit arrives at Bayview and Caillavet. Officers stop east and westbound traffic on Bayview and begin directing parade elements off the route. Floats will go north to the parking area under the I-110 or west to go north on I-110. Walking and non-float elements will disperse in the parking areas to the east or cross Bayview to the north. Traffic will be allowed to flow south on Caillavet and leave the event area.
See the Neptune route
Gulf Coast Carnival Association parade
The parade is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and should take three hours to complete the route. Here are key elements to the traffic plan:
Noon – Police close I-110 south at Division Street and U.S. 90 converted to two-lane traffic beteween Bellman Street and Gill Avenue.
12:30 p.m. – Route closes to traffic. Lameuse Street between Jackson and Water is closed for entertainment in front of City Hall.
1 p.m. – Parade begins at Esters Boulevard and Main Street, heading south on Main.
2 p.m. – Last parade unit should be north on Lameuse. Traffic lights on U.S. 90 placed in flashing mode; officers will control U.S. 90 intersections south of downtown. No northbound travel off U.S. 90 onto downtown streets, except at I-110. Any traffic attempting to enter U.S. 90 near downtown will be forced eastbound. Traffic already westbound on U.S. 90 will be allowed to remain westbound.
3:30 p.m. – Last parade unit should pass under the I-110 on U.S. 90 westbound. No northbound traffic allowed on Caillavet Street until end of the parade.
4 p.m. – Last parade unit should be northbound on Porter Avenue. Police will determine when U.S. 90 westbound from U.S. 90 can re-open.
5 p.m. – Last parade unit should be at Esters and Caillavet, which is the end of the route.
See the GCCA route
Safety tips: Before, during and after the parades
See the Biloxi Mardi Gras calendar of events
News & notes: Hizzoner, weekend, streets, schools
Hizzoner: Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich guests on this week’s City Desk podcast with a peek inside his day. To listen to the 12-minute program, click here.
Weekend preview: Sure it’s a Mardi Gras kind of weekend, but there’s more. There’s the Nina and Pinta tours, and in town this weekend are Gordon Lightfoot, Night Ranger and the Oak Ridge Boys. To see the weekend listings, including the Coastwide parade lineup, click here. For the city’s community calendar of events, click here.
Streets: The latest video update on the city’s three infrastructure projects has been published this morning, along with detailed project maps. See it all now by clicking here.
Biloxi Public Schools: And in a final first-look exclusive for Bmail subscribers, meet the new superintendent of Biloxi Public Schools, Marcus Boudreaux, and the new principal at Biloxi High School, Teresa Martin, in the March video update from the Biloxi Public Schools. Yes, you can see it now by clicking here.
