The stretch of Bayview Avenue from Caillavet to past Boomtown Casino now has its initial coat of asphalt, meaning all lanes of the roadway are open to traffic.
Oscar Renda Contracting opened the roadway Thursday evening at 7, four days ahead of its Dec. 15 target date. For months, motorists using the section of Bayview Avenue just east of Caillavet have had to use a detour route that at times included Division Street.
“This is great news for the heavy traffic volumes that we typically see around IP and Boomtown,” said Biloxi Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols. “These casinos generate a great deal of traffic from customers, employees and vendors, and we’re glad that Oscar Renda met its promised target.”
Meantime, Oscar Renda has updated the timeframe on two other areas: Initial paving on Oak Street will begin in early February and on Division Street in early spring. On Oak Street, contractors are installing a 27-inch diameter sewer at Sixth and Oak, and the line is about 25 feet deep in areas of Oak north of the CSX railway. On Division Street, contractors will be digging trenches as deep as 18 to 23 feet in the next several weeks to install sewer lines.
Oscar Renda was awarded a $117 million, federally funded contract by the city in May 2014 to repair or replace the storm-damaged infrastructure in east Biloxi. The project, part of a massive $355 million project, covers the area from east of I-110 to Point Cadet, north of the CSX railway.
The majority of the 55 miles of streets in the east Biloxi project area have been reduced to dirt while as many as 135 construction workers replace storm drains, sewer and water lines before restoring sidewalks and curbs. The process by which the infrastructure is being replaced or restored is dictated by the existing location of sewer pump stations, which are primarily in low-lying areas, and pump wastewater to the Keegan’s Bayou Wastewater Treatment Plant.
See an overview and background on infrastructure work
