GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - Port Commission President Lenny Sawyer says the Port of Gulfport is studying its options regarding elevation issues.

The Sun Herald reports (http://bit.ly/Tvx8ya ) that Sawyer told a group of local residents that the port will announce Nov. 15 what direction the port expansion will take. He says Gov. Phil Bryant, a critic of the elevation project, has been invited to the meeting.

Bryant has questioned plans to elevate the West Pier by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level, as part of its federally funded expansion and restoration project.

Bryant has said the port could put people to work quicker and conserve money by using a "robust" evacuation plan for storms rather than the elevating, which would mean the West Pier expansion would not be finished until 2017.

Information from: The Sun Herald, http://www.sunherald.com

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