MDOT, it should also be noted, is into massive waste having recently bought commissioners an expensive helicopter to fly around in; has previously bungled repairs to the Bay bridge. Design build is also a way to pay more money to contractors with less accountability and has led to MAJOR problems in other states, notably South Carolina. My prediction: a monstrosity with the taxpayers taking it in the shorts again.

this should have already been started....but that's OUR public officials

Well the local news stories for the past month about the unappealingly-supersized MNDOT design for the Biloxi-Ocean Springs bridge have been an interesting read. It appears that MNDOT is very vocal and comfortable with their lack of sensitivity and integration into community planning; they feel no responsibility. Basically Ocean Springs was tricked into signing off on a bridge they had been very clear that they did not want. The leader of the urban renewal forum had very harsh words about MNDOT's plan for that bridge and for Hwy 90 (which MNDOT wanted to turn into a raised superhighway). And let's not forget it was MNDOT who, before city leaders found out and rushed to stop them, as part of the process of 'clearing and fixing' 90 in Long Beach, decided to tear up all the remaining beautiful oak trees that had survived the storm, along a section of the coastline, in the days immediately following the storm. One can only wonder at their antiseptic 1960s vision of hiding the world under a maze of 8-lane superhighways, including apparently the stretch of intimate communities that make up the MS Gulf Coast.

Since this is a "national" disaster, why not have an independent team do the managing and awarding seperatly from MDOT if they are so poor at it? Doesn't it make better sense to a govenor who is is hot water as it is? You'd think common sense would rein and careful thought would go into this, but then again i'm talking about politicians. Wish we could be of more help here in DC, but we're all filled up with politicians. Maybe better thought should go into the next disaster than this one. We may not have as many problems...

I feel very deeply for the plight of Bay St. Lois, Kiln and waveland. But I am begging you, please go further east. We need coverage over the whole Mississippi coast. For instance, visit Gulf Hills in Ocean Springs (just east of Biloxi) or how about Pascagoula. These areas all had tremendous loss, yet there has been no national media coverage of any of these areas. This coverage is important, because it shows the government how great the need is. Please, please move further east!

Howard, I'm sure you'd be first on the list to complain if the MDOT said they didn't have the money to fix the bridge at all. Or if the commissioners decided to hike around on foot to survey the damage (since there's no road) I'm sure you'd be complaining then as well.

Let's all take a deep breath, remember that no single entity has ever dealt with such a crisis as this, and think how lucky we are that are govenment agencies don't just say, "Screw it, they should live in flood plains anyway."

It's a shame that construction hasn't even started yet. The "squabbling public officials" should be well remembered by the people at election time.

MDOT is like its own little kingdom. They don't care about the citizens (who have made their own desires about this bridge clear), they don't care about the local officials (notably Connie Moran, who has been trying to wage a war against MDOT to force them to do the right thing) and they certainly don't care about the taxpayers in Mississippi (millions of dollars wasted on office rennovations in what is already the most oppulant state office building in Jackson). I am hoping that they have once and for all gone so far into the ridiculous that the Legislature will reign them in -- limit their spending, make the commissioners appointed, whatever. Dick Hall seems to be the only one there with any sense, and he's been voted to work out of a trailer by the other two. MDOT is an embarassment to Mississippi -- their spending is out of control, and we still have awful roads. I typically support state government officials, because I know many agencies have to accomplish huge tasks with little in the way of resources, but MDOT makes me sick to my stomach. The fact that they have continued their dictatorial, money-wasting ways in light of Katrina should make all Mississippians sick.

All of this bickering and fighting about these bridges is way beyond my simple way of thinking. I want to go to Bay St. Louis, I want to go across the Bay bridge and watch the setting sun as I head over to have dinner at some restaurant along Beach Blvd. I even want to set in my car and watch a large boat go through the draw bridge. Such simple things that I want and yet they seem to be so impossible to get back in the near future. My home was spared but yet I have lost dear friends and a way of life that I miss with all my heart.

I am VERY concerned with the "design build" comment in relation to what has just happened in Biloxi/Ocean Springs where MDOT put a design on the table, and caught a lot of public criticizm for it. That design was oversized, unfriendly, unattractive and wasteful.

Is "design/build" a strategy to avoid showing anything to the citizens of Bay Waveland and Pass Christian? Sounds like it could be to me. We need to demand to see the "conceptual design" before bids are taken. We need input into the bridge design, and a say in a major element in the visual collage of our community. Once a price is locked in with a Contractor, it will be next to impossible to affect any changes in the scope of the project. Anything a community group or individual suggests can simply be dismissed by saying "It's not in the budget."

These are the things I would like to see incorporated:

2 vehicular travel lanes (and only 2) in each direction.

Safe bike and pedestrian access across the bridge.

Areas that would accomodate fishing from the bridge (anyone remember fishing from the bridge, and the local flavor it brought?)

Drawbridge or swingbridge to accomodate large boats, not a Twinspan-like hump. So what if you have to wait a few minutes for a ship to pass. Take that time to enjoy the view from the center of the span.

Appropriate night lighting, sensitive to the view of the night sky.

Compelling yet efficient design of the support structures and spans.

Solar photovoltaic panels or tidal generators for energy generation. Let's design the bridge to generate its own power, and save millions of dollars over the lifespan of the structure.

Transitions from on-grade roads to the bridge that are not elevated well back onto shore. Such a structure would effectively kill any sense of the bridge belonging to the urban fabric, and limit its potential use by pedestrians.

I hope others can post some of their wishes for the bridge on this site as well, and if you know how to go about making MDOT aware of these concerns, please post those as well.

Remember, MDOT has one goal - get traffic across the bay as quickly and safely as possible. The future bridge, without spending more money, can do so much more if we work to make it happen, and are allowed to participate in the design process.

The bridge is vital to our communities, not just as a way to get across the Bay, but as a symbol of our renewal. We must have a say in something so central to the re-creation of our home.

How much of the Biloxi Bay/Ocean Springs bridge is based on trying to "one up" the Pascagoula/Gautier 90 bridge? Just wondering....

Sorry about the typo (MNDOT instead of MDOT) in my earlier post.

I think the new bridge designs are not based on one-upping anything, but have been presented as part of MDOT's concept to turn the entire coastline into a Miami Beach-type freeway. I read that they wanted to raise Hwy 90 and turn it into a big highway for some length of the coast, like a 2nd I-10, but right over the beachfront, and the 8-lane bridges were just part of that larger concept...but that was so completely bizarre and met with such a cold reception that the 'superhighway' part of the concept was immediately dropped. I think their vision of the future for the coastal strip was a lot of high-rises next to this 1960s-style raised freeweay.

Biloxi has ok'ed a number of condo developments, but I don't think they are the super high-rise type buildings, but on a more intimate scale that is appropriate for the coast, and I think we all understand that there is going to be some urbanization of that part of the Harrison Cty coastline, but this type of development would not fit the character of the rest of the coast.

Don't worry about the roads or bridges. A ton of money comes from the fed. government. You just have to worry about how those funds are going to be used by the state that gets those funds. All the bridges will get rebuilt. Just a matter of when and how much you taxes go up. If you trust you local and state governments, then i'm sure there will be no problem(thats sarcasm). But really, it's just a matter of time and money.

John, excellent points. Please write a letter to the editors of the Echo & the Sun Herald reiterating them, & also the website for the Governor's Commission.

Amen, John. One of my favorite things was coming home from a "trip" across to Harrison County. The most beautiful view in the world was rounding the curve at Henderson point and seeing Bay St. Louis across the water. that bridge and safe bicycle and pedestrian lanes (and bays for the fisherman) would make it just about perfect.

As an employee of the Mississippi Department of Transportation, I feel it is time for change. MDOT is a big organization without any outside oversight. Someone needs to protect the employees. I feel that the solution is the Mississippi Alliance of State Employees/Communication Workers of America Local 3570 (MASE/CWA). I have been experiencing the effects of not having a voice in the work place. I am standing up for the rights of all state employees to be represented by a union. It is time for Mississippi to move forward and leave behind the effects of "slave labor" mentality.

Shawn Miller
103 Shemper Dr. #4
Hattiesburg, MS 39401
601-264-3308