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Nighttime mill work easier on drivers, workers
Article courtesy of the SunHerald

Nighttime is the right time for heavy construction on traffic-congested Pass Road, a paving company has discovered. But watch out for flying eggs.

Warren Paving, Inc., a construction company new to the Coast, has brought a relatively new practice - nighttime paving - to its first major Coast project, repaving Pass Road from Courthouse to DeBuys roads.

The $786,000 contract between Warren and the city of Gulfport was by far the lowest bid for the work and did not require the company to pave by night. "Night work is a coming thing in our industry," said B.J. Sellers, Coast division manager for Warren Paving. "Go through Atlanta, Dallas or any big city at night and you will see people paving at night. It helps reduce traffic problems. It's safer for our workers and it gives us time to get things cleaned up and moved out before the heavy traffic hits in the mornings."

Pass Road, which carries at least 28,000 cars a day, could be a study in driver frustration under the best of circumstances. During heavy construction, bumper-to-bumber traffic and angry motorists are the norm. Biloxi officials discovered this when the city repaved a stretch from DeBuys to Jim Money roads in 1996. Traffic was snarled, businesses suffered and the project ran months over schedule.

Paving at night, when traffic ebbs, has thus far allowed construction to move rapidly, Warren Paving workers said. But it hasn't eliminated driver frustration. One surly motorist threw eggs at workers on a recent night, several reported.

"Yes. That actually happened," Sellers said. "We've had our share of upset motorists. But we've also had several people actually stop and tell us how they appreciate us doing the work at night."

On his first night with Warren Paving, Oscar Williams of Gulfport flagged in large trucks to pick up loads of old asphalt sprayed from a milling machine. He also has to try to slow down motorists and direct them to the lane farthest from the workers. At times, this is a hair-raising experience.

"We got some wild drivers coming through here," Williams said. "I'll tell you that. They're in a big hurry to get nowhere."

Lewis Faulk of Vancleave, owner of an independent trucking company contracting with Warren Paving, makes a plea to Pass Road drivers:

"Just tell the traffic to give us a little break, and we'll have you a new road before you know it," Faulk said. "Then you can run up to 100 miles per hour. But you'll probably have to take that up with the Gulfport PD."

While Pass Road paving might prompt an occasional egg toss from the motoring public, Warren Paving's decision to do much of the work at night has drawn some praise from city leaders.

"I've been very impressed by the company," said Kim Savant, Gulfport City Council president. "Warren is apparently one of those contractors who is willing to do what it takes to get the job done. I hope they do more work for us in the future."

Said City Engineer Bill Powell: "We are just very pleased by their decision to work at night. I think the public should appreciate it, too. I think it's probably something to consider in future contracts."

City and company officials expect the Pass Road project to be completed by its deadline of early July. This week, the company will begin some repaving work during the days.

"If this causes major chaos," Sellers said, "then we'll probably get back to night work."


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