I've said all along that the Beulah Beltway/Beulah Interchange is the area's #1 priority. Other commissioners have echoed this sentiment.
Yesterday at the TPO meeting in Gulf Breeze, several important issues were discussed and members voted on several important issues. But most importantly--several members of the TPO spoke up and stated that the Beulah Interchange is still the area's #1 priority--this was affirmed. FDOT also spoke of the importance of the second exit on I-10 for Beulah.
When the subject of the Navy Federal Credit Union, 9-Mile Road Overpass came up, there were several speakers. A host of NFCU employees spoke out in favor of the overpass. Some speakers expressed concern about the way the project was rushed through--one speaker characterizing the whole episode as a "Public Relations Disaster" for NFCU. I agree it was a black eye for NFCU, and a demonstration of "hard-power" that was unnecessary.
However, recognizing the tremendous political weight behind moving forward with this overpass concept-- and knowing it would pass no matter what--it should not be surprising that I voted with the rest of the group to make the vote unanimous.
My reasoning for voting to move this forward was threefold:
1-Once the project hits the LRTP and Cost-Feasible lists, it will move forward to a PD&E phase where other practical alternatives must be considered and resident input will be taken into account.
2-there is no doubt that some independent, non-county funding will be coming along with this push to move this project
3--most importantly--This project will not leap-frog any other projects on the work plan--it was placed on the bottom. Also, this NFCU overpass project will neither detract from the funding and momentum toward completing the Beulah Interchange at Beulah Road and I-10--because this interchange is truly a regional project, it will alleviate traffic gridlock in Beulah, and it is once again affirmed that this is the most important project for Escambia County's future going forward.
3 comments:
Sir, Please don’t insult our intelligence, Beulah Road and I-10 interchange is at least 10 years away. You don’t even have the property you need to put it in, so stop trying to convince people it is right around the corner because it is not. If you have had the forethought or any forward thinking you would have explored using 8 mile creek Rd. $70 Million tax payer dollars could revamp that road, install a overpass over I10, giving you access to Wild Lake with east and west bound movement, Mobile Hwy again giving you east and west bound movement, and extending 8 mile creek road to Blue Angle Pkwy giving you the much needed access south. Get Frank Reeder Rd to a manageable two lane road giving people access to Beulah Rd North to Muskogee, or fix Kingsfield Rd giving people access to the many new developments and school going in over there. NFCU’s traffic problem is only a couple hours in the evening, make these changes, give 9 mile Rd a chance and you just might see a difference.
Anonymous--No way we're 10 years from the interchange. We are 5-7 years (or sooner) from it if we continue to press. And the interchange is the most important follow-on project for easing traffic in the growing Beulah community after we complete the 9-Mile Road 4-lane project next year-- the NFCU overpass-skyway is NOT going to be the Panacea that 'fixes' Beulah's traffic bottleneck problem, because it simply shoe-horns all Beulah and NFCU traffic into one already overloaded interstate onramp. But the NFCU Overpass is going to be funded, has lots of political gravity, will bring in additional money, and when that PD&E process kicks off, I hope you will bring your ideas to the meetings and that these ideas can be turned into alternatives that will be considered. For my part, I will be bringing several alternatives that are less expensive and more pragmatic as follows: 1.) Take the road south out of NFCU (between Nature Trail and Dawson Group Development) to Wilde-Lake, and extend Wilde Lake improve Wilde Lake and widen it to 4-lanes at the onramp it runs right into at Pine Forest road. This could be done for 1/3 the cost of the NFCU skyway overpass--and would split NFCU and Beulah traffic between two onramps instead of overloading exit 5. 2.) take existing roads that are already in place (9-mile Road and Beulah Road) and simply add a "temporary" on ramp (eastbound only for now) at Beulah Road at I-10 (where there already is an overpass above I-10) in the general footprint of where the Beulah Interchange project will eventually be constructed --this could easily be done in 6-months if we get FED bureaucrats to allow it--and it could be done for 1-10th of the NFCU Overpass Skyway project and it would help NFCU immediately--as it would get half of Beulah heading to the interstate at a new access point instead of going all the way down 9-mile road to the only current interstate access point. 3.) improve Frank Reeder Road, take a new road from NFCU to Frank Reeder and then to Beulah Road to a temporary, eastbound only onramp to I-10 (as described in #2 above) and 4.) Connect a new southbound road from 9-mile south to Mobile hwy to improve connectivity in the area and disperse the traffic load more efficiently. Ideally, the solution would be all of the above. I'm working that direction, stay tuned.
The PD&E Study phase for planned transportation projects provides the interface between
the Planning and Design phases to evaluate and document solutions to transportation needs
that are compatible with the environment. Simply stated, the PD&E study determines if there is an engineering and environmentally feasible alternative to meet the need determined in the Planning phase.
What issues are evaluated in a PD&Estudy?
Social and Economical Impacts
Air Quality
Noise
Wetlands
Water Quality
Wildlife/Habitat Impacts
Contamination
Floodplains
Conceptual Design
Public Involvement
What actions are taken to complete a PD&E study?
An environmental document is generated that discusses the impact of the proposed project on the social and environmental areas.
An engineering document is generated which explains the engineering criteria for the proposed work.
Public Meetings are held to share this information with the affected public.
A Public Hearing is held to solicit public comments on the proposed project.
The Environmental Document is approved by State and/or Federal Agencies.
The issues covered by the PD&E study process are addressed so that FDOT can plan for a transportation project that will assist in meeting Florida's total transportation needs, this alone will take 5-7 years, all the while an A&E has not been selected, 1- 1/2 years for design, 1-1/2 years construction and that's being conservative. You have to have a place for the road to go once you cross I10, which you don't.
The already "overloaded interstate onramp" you speak of is not entirely true, that traffic goes east because there is no where else to go, and its only a short while in the evenings, you take away the fact that the site is inundated with construction workers, dump trucks, concrete trucks, delivery trucks, and people who for what ever reason would not normally be there makes the traffic count skewed. Going south through the Dawson development and Nature trail is not an option, wetlands, new flood plains, and conservation easement makes this creek crossing, IP property, old landfill makes this impossible. Private property ownership and more wetlands make extending Wilde Lake too expensive with no right of way to increase the size of Wilde Lake, and we already know the "Board" will not take property for road purposes. Your 1/3 cost estimate is flawed, property acquisition alone will cost 1/3. Everyone knows FDOT would never allow a temporary ramp, wishful thinking.
Improve Frank Reeder Road, is a good idea, but you have NOTHING IN THE WORKS to address this, you will be out of office before this happens.
To improve connectivity in the area and disperse the traffic load more efficiently, ideally, the solution would be Improve Beulah Rd north and south now, do not wait on FDOT. It will take years the community doesn't have; give Nine Mile Rd new construction a chance to work. What if the economy tanks again and NFCU only brings in 25 more people, does that justify a $70 Million over pass? There are no guarantees there, they are not so big they can't fail. Consider the overpass on 8 Mile Creek Rd, it's your best option with the least amount of impacts.
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