“We’re hoping people are going to be calm because it’s going to be slow-moving traffic on Highway 90 and other major thoroughfares this weekend, and it’s going to be all weekend,” Biloxi Police Chief John Miller said today as another record-breaking Cruisin’ The Coast heads into the final weekend.
Miller said Biloxi Police expect between 60,000 and 80,000 vehicles to be on roadways that have average daily traffic counts of 30,000 to 40,000 vehicles a day. The city’s Public Works Department in the early morning hours, before sunrise today, installed traffic cones between eastbound and westbound lanes of U.S. 90 from Debuys Road, the city’s western boundary, to I-110, near the downtown area, in case one lane is needed to be reserved to allow emergency vehicles to move about. Barricades are positioned at key intersections where left turns may have to be temporarily prohibited.
Said Miller: “There’s no doubt traffic is going to be the challenge. It’s going to be slow-moving, but my goal this weekend is to make sure traffic KEEPS moving. I hope we don’t have to go to one lane, but it may very well happen.”
Police said the heaviest traffic congestion on U.S. 90 has been from Rodenberg, from the service drive hosting restaurant row, westward toward two popular Cruisin’ locations: Edgewater Mall, where an outdoor stage will include the Barlow Brothers on Saturday; and at the Coast Coliseum.
Miller said traffic was already at a high volume today, as more Cruisers and car enthusiasts arrive for the weekend finale.
“We’ve seen a well-behaved registered Cruisin’ crowd,” the chief said, “and we’ve seen some nonsense and written some tickets to people who are non-Cruisers. If you’re behaving, then you don’t have to worry about getting a ticket, regardless of who you are. And I would also say this: Don’t let spectators along the roadside get you in trouble. When they’re hollering for you to spin your wheels, we’re asking you to be responsible.”
See the traffic plan rack card
See cruisin’ photos from the Biloxi Block Party
News and notes: Weekend preview, traffic, B-Alert
Weekend preview: Of course there’s the attraction of Cruisin’ The Coast throughout the weekend, and the Biloxi Parks & Recreation Department hosts its annual Happy Halloween in Woolmarket tonight from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Woolmarket School grounds. Meanwhile, Travis Tritt and Natasha Bedingfield will each perform at the IP, and the Beach Boys will be at the Beau Rivage. To see the Biloxi Community Calendar, click here. To see a complete weekend preview, click here.
Traffic: See the latest on road work and traffic throughout the city in Traffic Update, published online each day by the city’s Engineering Department. To see the update, along with links to MDOT traffic cameras and Gulf Regional Planning Commission traffic counts, click here.
B-Alert: Stay in the know about road closures, road re-openings, and other traffic advisories, especially this weekend, by signing up for B-Alert. It’s a real-time, on-the-go messaging system that delivers advisories directly to your cell phone. Just text BILOXI to 888777.
