Boaters accessing the water at Hiller Park will soon see enhancements to the facility’s boat launch.
This week, contractors with JE Talley began a 90-day project to upgrade the concrete boat launch. Currently, the removal of the concrete ramp and retaining wall is underway. Improvements include a new ramp, retaining wall, and two finger piers on both sides of the launch, a 25-foot pier on the south side, and a 58-foot pier on the north side that will run parallel to the shoreline for boat parking while waiting to load or unload.
The site will also see new asphalt in the parking area.
“The boat launch is located in the city’s largest park and is used often,” said Parks & Recreation Director Sherry Bell. “These upgrades will allow better and more access to Biloxi Bay and it will help decrease some of the wait time for boaters entering and exiting the water because of the new finger piers.”
The 90-day, $400,000 project is being funded by a Tidelands grant, and the new and improved 40-foot by 70-foot concrete boat launch is expected to reopen in early Fall.
During the work, the boat launch will be closed. The public is encouraged to use the boat launch at the Popp’s Ferry Causeway.
See the improvements proposal layout
News & notes: First Friday, raffle for Hendrix, utility work
First Friday: The monthly downtown affair, First Friday, kicks off at 5 tonight at The District Green on Howard Avenue. The event includes live music by HUD & The Hurricane and Unfazed Show Band, food trucks, a bicycle ride, prizes, and vendors. The event is free to attend and ends at 9 p.m. To see the flyer, click here.
#HealingForHendrix raffle: The Biloxi Police Department is raffling off three guns to benefit Hendrix Branning and his family. Tickets are available, for the three separate raffle drawings, at the Lopez-Quave Public Safety Center on Porter Avenue through Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. or until sold out. The proceeds from the raffle will go to the family of Hendrix who is battling a brain tumor. He is also the son of Biloxi and Long Beach police officers. For more information, including how to purchase a raffle ticket, click here.
Coast Electric work: Coast Electric customers along West Oaklawn Road, East Oaklawn Road, South Oaklawn Road, North Oaklawn Road, Shriners Boulevard, Parkers Creek, and Road 537 will see an interruption in service on Aug. 16 between 8 a.m. and noon. Coast Electric Power Association will be working on the lines in that area. To see a letter regarding the work, click here.
