( CNN ) -- The wooden sculptures lining the median of U.S. 90 are among the top tourist attractions on the Mississippi Gulf Coast . Marlin Miller 's live oak sculpture in Biloxi 's Town Green will be dedicated Saturday . They are also a creative tribute to the live oaks that lined the scenic highway before the saltwater surge of Hurricane Katrina killed them at their very roots . After the storm , the Mississippi Department of Transportation began bulldozing the dead trees , much to the chagrin of area residents . Biloxi Mayor A.J . Holloway , one of the coast 's longtime civic leaders , intervened . He contracted to have some of the live oak trunks turned into sculptures . But it would have proved to be a costly venture . Enter Marlin Miller , a wood sculptor from Fort Walton Beach , Florida , who volunteered to create a few live oak sculptures for free -- in part to leave his artistic mark on the Mississippi Gulf Coast , but also as a service to the community . A tree sculpture begins with the transportation department removing all the branches , leaving just the core of the tree . `` I get an idea of what that carving is going to look like , and I go after it with a wide variety of steel chain saws . '' Miller said . He works his way down to high speed grinders , sanders and chisels to add the final detail work . `` They 're live oaks , so it 's like carving stone . Sparks fly off my chain saw blades when I go after one of the trees , '' Miller said . Some of the trees , which are as much a part of south Mississippi 's heritage as the antebellum homes scattered along the coastline , are estimated to be as much as 500 or 600 years old . Miller 's sculptures along U.S. 90 range from eagles and herons to seahorses and dolphins . He said local governments have never dictated how his carvings should look . In Pass Christian , Miller created what he believes to be the world 's largest eagle wood carving , at 25 feet tall . `` That sculpture is dedicated to Col. Lawrence Roberts , one of the original Tuskegee Airmen , '' he said . A recent survey of area tourist attractions by the Harrison County Tourism Commission listed the beaches as the third-most popular attraction and the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino second . Miller 's tree sculptures are first . `` We 've had a lot of traffic diverting off of Interstate 10 , down to U.S. 90 just to see these carvings , '' Miller said . On Saturday , one of Miller 's sculptures will be dedicated on the Biloxi Town Green : a 24-foot-tall marlin flying into the sky , three mahi fish jumping to the left , and a sea turtle and a blue crab at the base . It is the only painted tree sculpture of all those lining U.S. 90 . Next on Marlin 's to-do list : an oak tree in the center of Ocean Springs , Mississippi , and one in Gulfport , Mississippi . He also plans to expand the project to downtown New Orleans and parts of North Carolina . `` Instead of just cutting these trees down , '' Marlin said , `` we 're going to put new life into them by adding a sculpture . ''
Live oaks lined scenic Florida 90 before Hurricane Katrina destroyed them . U.S. wood sculptor Marlin has been turning the tree trunks into carvings . the Mississippi Department of Transportation 's sculptures range from eagles and herons to seahorses and dolphins . One of his sculptures will be dedicated on the Biloxi Town Green on Saturday .