Infrastructure work expands to area of Point Cadet

The city’s massive infrastructure project, which is in the final phases on the $130 million north contract and midway through $25 million worth of infrastructure work in neighborhoods south of the railway just west of downtown, is expanding to the east end of Biloxi’s peninsula.

A $10.5 million, 550-day contact has been awarded to Lane Construction to install new water, sewer and drainage lines in the area south of the CSX railway, involving three miles of roads from the tip of the peninsula at Michael Boulevard, south to Third Street and west to Hoxie. Among the streets that will be impacted, all south of the railway: Oak, Maple, Wisteria, Tchula, Fourth, Fifth, and sections of Howard and Third.

The infrastructure work is one of the issues Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich spoke about this morning during the Biloxi Chamber’s Breakfast with the Mayor, which was hosted by Merit Health Biloxi.

In East Biloxi, work has begun along Maple and Pine streets, and rows of four-foot wide pipes and large drainage boxes along the roadside signal the work to come.

In some areas, contractors will have to install 42-inch sewer pipes 23 feet below ground, which is part of the reason this segment of Point Cadet is being done first. The work actually began Oct. 14 and has a deadline of April 16, 2021.

“From a sequencing standpoint, we had to start here because it requires the deepest work south of the tracks,” said Walt A. Rode, the city’s infrastructure manager. “All the sewer lines tie in at the Sixth Street pumping station and you work from the deepest to the most shallow.”

With the awarding of the $10.5 million Lane contract, the city now has $163.4 million in infrastructure construction underway. Additionally, another $58.5 million in construction – covering areas north of the Bay, west of Keesler, and in Eagle Point – is complete.

Still to be awarded is another $88.6 million in work, which would see the installation of water, sewer and drainage lines just north of U.S. 90, from the current work at Chalmers Drive, all the way to the city’s western boundary at Debuys Road, along with extensive work near the city’s major casinos.
Infrastructure status: The big picture
See area of latest contract award
Gallery: See photos of latest work area
Video: See the latest video of progress
See detailed maps of current progress

News & notes: Council meeting, week in review

Council meeting: The Biloxi City Council meets this afternoon at 1:30. The meeting was moved from Tuesday because of Election Day. To see the complete agenda and supporting documents, click here.

Week in review: Have any idea what happened in Biloxi last week? To read the detailed reports from the departments of Fire, Police, Community Development and Engineering, click here.