According to the MS Press there is Blood on the Tracks
The Press states "Gov. Haley Barbour's Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal recommended moving the tracks for safety concerns, as well as an effort to restore the U.S. 90 corridor to a more pedestrian-friendly character. Too, it will open the doors to economic development."

But sticking the American taxpayers with a $700 million price tag touted as disaster relief in order to create a more pedestrian-friendly corridor, and open the doors to economic development is a tad unfair. As far safety concerns forcing CSX to place crossing gates at ALL crossing would address those. Overpasses and underpasses could also be utilized in some areas far cheaper then relocating the tracks to the tune of $700 million dollars.

According the Meridian Star
Porkbusters Pick on Wrong project. I guess it’s not Pork if it’s for something in your state. According to the Meridian Star “We won’t argue that so-called pork-barrel politics is a huge problem in this country — and partly responsible for the federal government’s massive debt load that will be shouldered by American taxpayers for generations to come. But pork, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. The current U.S. 90 would become a scenic byway, making the beachfront less congested and more aesthetically and environmentally friendly. More important, it would push commercial development — except for casinos and other massive structures — off the beach, where small buildings like gift shops and restaurants are sitting ducks in the event of a major hurricane like Katrina. " Does the Meridian Star really believe that gift shops and restaurants will move away from the beach? If so they are extremely naïve. The beach is where the tourist who spends money at the gift shops and restaurants are not inland along some monster highway.

According to the Sun Herald A Better Tomorrow Must Include Arts and History. They are right there are many historical homes, and museums that are in need of financial help. The Sun Herald states "How tragic it would be, one day when the demands of rebuilding and recovery are past, to wake up in a world with no Ohr-O'Keefe Museum, no Walter Anderson Museum, no Lynn Meadows Discovery Center, no Maritime Museum, no Beauvoir, no local history museums, no symphony, no opera, no little theaters... no laughter, just tragedy. Work is under way to find a funding source to provide life support until these institutions and organizations can again breathe on their own. But thousands of pressing needs are competing for the same funds." $700 million would go along way in addressing these needs, and I am sure are more inline with what the majority of taxpayers would consider disaster relief. So Senators Lott and Cochran please knock off trying to get the CSX railroad relocated and use the money to protect our “Art and History”, a project that would benefit all Americans.