WXXV-TV Gulfport
Funds Squared Away for Restoration on Ship Island
By Erikka Miller
Federal funds have been landed to continue restoration work on Ship Island.
US senator Cindy Hyde-Smith has just announced that more than $56 million dollars has been allocated to carry out phases three and four of the Barrier Island restoration work.
It’s part of the Mississippi Coastal Improvements program, a comprehensive initiative authorized and funded by congress to aid in the recovery of parts of coastal Mississippi severely damaged during the 2005 hurricane season, namely by Hurricane Katrina.
The project is headed up by the US Army Corps of Engineers who developed this comprehensive plan in conjunction with other federal and state agencies.
The massive split on Ship Island known as the Camille Cut was filled for the first time in 50 years earlier this year during the first two phases of the restoration project.
During these next two phases, millions of cubic yards of sand will be placed on the southern shoreline of the eastern end of Ship Island and on the northern shoreline in the area known as Camille Cut.
Work is expected to be complete by this time next year.
Related Article: Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith stops on the Coast