The lane closures on U.S. 90 west of White Avenue should be history in about three weeks, and all of Division Street should be paved at the end of October, according to the latest video update from contractors rebuilding the infrastructure in east Biloxi.
“Our utility work, the installation of sewer and water lines along the north side of U.S. 90 will be complete in about three weeks, and all lanes of traffic west of Porter will be open,” says Jack Gratwick of Hemphill Construction. “We’ll then come back and install sidewalks and driveways, but that work is not expected to cause lane closures.”
Oscar Renda Contracting, meantime, is sticking with its pledge of pavement on all of Division Street by the end of October, with pavement at the same time on Lameuse north of Division, sidewalk work winding down on streets connecting to Porter Avenue, as well as work wrapping up in weeks on Querens and Benachi.
Hemphill is overseeing the infrastructure work involving about eight miles of roadways south of the CSX Railway, from downtown to Seashore Methodist. Another firm, Oscar Renda Contracting, is overseeing infrastructure work impacting 55 miles of roadways north of the CSX railway, from the east side of Keesler to Point Cadet.
Howard Avenue and Benachi Avenue, where Hemphill crews must install sewer lines from 23 to 26 feet below ground, remain challenging areas for Hemphill. Howard, a major thoroughfare, will remain closed for at least another six weeks, and Benachi will be limited to local traffic for at least three months.
“These are the deepest parts of the project and they are on narrow streets, which complicates the work,” Gratwick says. “We are going to work with residents on Benachi to try to make sure they have access to homes, and businesses on Howard will have access from either the east or the west.”
See this month’s status video
See detailed maps of overall progress
