Bay St. Louis Boardwalk Construction Resumes November 7
By Jakira Hunt, McKenna Klamm, and Justin Glowacki | Published: October 31, 2026 | 12:42 AM GMT+1
HANCOCK COUNTY — Construction on the Bay St. Louis boardwalk is set to resume on November 7, extending the ADA-accessible walkway over 500 feet from Demontluzin Avenue to Ulman Avenue.
Chiniche Engineering and Surveying has been working with Bay St. Louis officials for years to secure funding for a boardwalk stretching from the harbor to Ulman Avenue. The firm has already completed an ADA-accessible ramp to the beach and a section of the boardwalk ending at Demontluzin Avenue.
Jason Chiniche, the firm's principal engineer, attributed the project's origin to the pandemic:
"A lot of restaurants and bars were forced to close their in-house seating," he said. "We got to thinking this would be a good area to have some seating—a gathering space—and really utilize an area that wasn't being utilized very well."
Project Details
The boardwalk is being built on part of the seawall's scour pad, a thick concrete slab that helps protect the area from storm surges. While locals have long used the scour pad as an informal walkway, it was never intended for public use.
"It doesn't meet any type of ADA cross slope standards or anything," Chiniche said. "This boardwalk provides that access."
Discussions about making the scour pad ADA-accessible began in 2016 under Mayor Les Fillingame, but the project only gained momentum earlier this year. Chiniche attributed the yearslong delay to securing funding.
The project has received $500,000 from the Mississippi Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund and $1.3 million from Gulf Coast Restoration Funds.
The boardwalk is being completed in four phases. Phase one and part of phase two are already finished.
"November 7 they should start (the second half of phase two), and then that'll take about six months to complete, but that'll continue the boardwalk from Demontluzin Avenue all the way to Ulman Avenue," Chiniche said.
Phase three includes a small pier with ADA access to an existing fire pit on the beach, while phase four would connect the beach and harbor areas.