Coast harbor expansion to get underway next month

PASS CHRISTIAN — Dredging for a $33-million harbor expansion begins Dec. 15, a year after Pass Christian received the grant to make the project possible.

Yesterday, the Commission of Marine Resources voted unanimously to allow a permit for harbor modifications, the last hurdle for the project.

When bids came in $4 million to $5 million too high last year, Thompson Engineering redesigned the harbor, slimming down a pier and moving commercial slips. Mayor Chipper McDermott told The Sun Herald the changes brought the bid prices down.

The expansion, to the east of the harbor, will be paid for with a $25-million Mississippi Development Authority grant and $3 million from a Coastal Impact Assistance Program grant.