Coastal Transportation Summit

Held on August 29th 2019 at the Golden Nugget Casino Conference Center in Biloxi, the 1st Annual Coastal Transportation Summit was a who’s who of transportation and political figures at the local, state and federal level. Featured keynote speaker, US Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, addressed the audience about the political struggles of maintaining and funding US infrastructure projects across the country. Ms. Chao also expressed the hard work that is being done in Washington to get funding out to the states for badly needed infrastructure projects. Along with Secretary of Transportation Chao, US Senators Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith were in attendance and spoke to the attendees about the work they are doing in Washington DC on behalf of the state of Mississippi. Two grants were recently awarded to the state for replacements of failing bridges. Additional speakers included the former Mayor of Oklahoma City who reflected on his time as mayor and the struggles his city has growing the economy and attracting business. Presented by the Gulf Regional Planning Commission, the summit was designed to shine a light on Mississippi coastal communities and the unique infrastructure environments they need to deal with.