Gulfport, Mississippi, residents are rising up against expansion of their container port prompted by the recent boom in shipping and the prospect of increased traffic after the widening of the Panama Canal, reports The Biloxi Sun-Herald.
Port officials hope to fill in 145 acres of water bottoms during a 10-year expansion to double the container shipping capacity and build a new container terminal.
"This will turn our beautiful neighbourhood into an industrial wasteland," said resident Janice Coari, recalling the 19 containers that washed ashore when Hurricane Katrina struck, destroying properties for which owners were not compensated.
Seventy locals met to protest the planned expansion, during which they said the development would hurt local business, ending most commercial and residential development near the US 90 highway.
Others said they would have never invested in beachfront property if they had known the port would seek to expand. "We have this beautiful beach and this is absolutely important," said Rick Quinn, the spokesman for a local waterfront casino.
|
