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Ideal rerouting of U.S. 90 bridges might not be practical.

Article Excerpt
A number of interesting alternatives have been suggested by the Governor's Commission charrette transportation committee regarding rebuilding the infrastructure of the Mississippi Gulf Coast. But with speed being of the essence to replace critical structures like the U.S. 90 bridges, those ideas may have little opportunity to come off the drawing board.

The Governor's Commission oversaw a series of New Urbanism planning meetings called charrettes earlier this month in Biloxi. One recommendation was to reroute the U.S. 90 bridge between Ocean Springs and Biloxi slightly to the north. That would straighten out a curve, and provide opportunities for a new commercial area dubbed the Ferry District in Ocean Springs. The bridge would come ashore in Biloxi north of Casino Row near Division Street.

Biloxi Mayor A.J. Holloway said the recommendations were interesting, and that if he had his "druthers," the bridge would come in near the CSX railroad tracks in Biloxi, and a new U.S. 90 would run parallel to the tracks. But Holloway says that while rebuilding the bridge at the previous footprint could be done by 2007, it would take three or four years to complete environmental permitting requirements and obtain the right-of-way acquisitions that would be needed to move...

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