County Requests Safety Evaluation of FDOT's Beulah Road/9-Mile Road Intersection: FDOT is Studying the Issue

There have been a number of wrecks at the intersection of the state's roads Beulah Road and 9-Mile Road.

The latest one resulted in a fatality.  Numerous Citizens have expressed concern.  And the county is listening.

Last week, we requested FDOT look into this situation for safety's sake via this email, below:

"Escambia County requests the Department conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the signalized intersection of Nine Mile Road (State Road 10 / U.S. 90-A) at Beulah Road (State Road 99).  The Design-Build improvements were complete in February 2022 and drivers routinely request changes to the geometry, pavement markings and traffic signal operations.  The evaluation may need multiple staff with multiple backgrounds; Design, Safety Office, and Traffic Operations. 

 One specific concern that routinely comes up is the obscured view of oncoming thru traffic for the driver turning left on the green permissive phase.  (It appears to be more obscure for the eastbound left turning vehicle.)  Has the Department reviewed the possibility of shifting the EB left turn lane to the north to provide additional sight distance?  If it is not feasible, please examine changing the traffic signal’s left turn treatment from protected/permissive mode to protected only mode.  There have been two major crashes with eastbound left turning drivers failing to yield the right of way and turning in front of a westbound driver in the past few months.  (November 16, 2022 and April 28, 2023).  The latest crash resulted in a fatality.

 FDOT Design Office is currently managing Project 433113-5-52-01, Beulah Road resurfacing from Mobile Highway (SR 10A/U.S. 90) to Issacs Lane.  There may already be an evaluation complete.  If so, can you forward the document?  There may be some short-term recommendations Escambia County maintenance staff can implement.  The Google Earth KMZ file representing 30% plans is attached.

 FDOT provided signalization upgrades during the Design-Build project that can provide valuable data for the evaluation.  The detection camera provides a variety of data including turning movement counts and 24-hour counts. I am also available to meet to go over some of the citizen suggestions, verify measurements in the field and obtain photos.    

 County Commissioner Bergosh has requested to stay informed on the progress of this request.  I am copying him on this email.  As a courtesy, I am also copying the District Traffic Operations Engineer.

 Appreciate your support."

Wednesday of last week, FDOT acknowledged the issue and confirmed they are having the matter looked into.

Good afternoon Jim,

 

"We have tasked Phillip Kurth, with FTE to study this location.

 Phillip

 Please see Jim’s email below regarding the Task Assignment for this location that I sent you earlier. Please work with Jim Hagon on this assignment.

 Respectfully,

 Tammy Melchi

Traffic Specialist IV

FDOT Traffic Operations Office"

more to come.

FDOT Completes the 9-Mile Road and US 29 Corridor Improvement Project

 .......And they have put out a nice video which summarizes the work that has been completed as a result of this $100 Million Dollar state project.

Is it the Road's Fault?

We are nearing completion of the 4-lane project for 9-Mile road in Beulah.  Some residents have noticed some issues....But overall the project is a vast improvement over where we were 5 years ago!

It's now been about a month, give or take a day or two,  since all four lanes of 9-Mile Road from Exit 5 to Beulah road have been opened up to traffic.  The project is not yet totally completed, as there are landscaping and striping and some other resurfacing activities that will be happening---but the majority of the project and the biggest positive benefit ---the 4 lanes being open---have happened.

For the most part and from the best I can tell---- the reception has been very good.  I know I love it as it definitely has made my commute easier and the traffic less significant in the morning and afternoon particularly.

--Even at 5:00 on a weekday---the traffic exiting from I-10 headed west onto exit 5 from the afternoon comute is no longer baking cars up dangerously onto the shoulder of I-10 eastward one mile back toward Pine Forest Road.  That, is a GREAT thing.

--Traffic is moving the two miles or so between exit 5 and Beulah road very fluidly in the afternoons

--Traffic going Eastbound on 9 Mile Road in the mornings from Beulah Road to exit 5 is moving very smoothly as well.

But there are some kinks some have reported to me and that I have noticed that can hopefully be worked out as we move toward completing this project:

--The timing of the signals at Heritage Oaks and Navy Federal Way are not optimized--(e.g. they apparently run all weekend on the same pattern as the weekday--even though NFCU employees, by and large, are not as big of a presence on the weekends.  One resident has asked:  "Why can't we make those signals flashing "yellow" for the 48 hours of the weekend going east and west on 9-mile when hardly any traffic is coming out of the NFCU campus;  give the outgoing cars a flashing "red" on Navy Federal Way and Heritage Oaks?  Sounds reasonable to me.

--The barrels at Beulah Road and 9 Mile create what to some motorists appears to be a view hazard or blind spot.  Four days ago, a sedan pulled out in front of a motorcycle at that very spot and there was a

9-Mile Road in Beulah Traffic Shift Today----We are Now Using Both Sides of the Road! We're Getting There!!

 

It is coming along, and this is a big step forward that constituents in Beulah will greatly appreciate!   From the project team:

"All:

Last night Roads, Inc. Of Northwest Florida shifted the westbound 9-Mile Road traffic off of the inside eastbound roadway to the outside westbound roadway between the Beulah Middle School and Navy Federal Way. This new traffic control phase places the traffic on the Segment 6 project (The Project between Beulah Middle School and I-10) onto the appropriate lanes (eastbound on the eastbound roadway and westbound on the westbound roadway).  Eastbound traffic remains in a single lane. It does not make sense to try to re-stripe the roadway, open to 2 lanes and then immediately close it back to 1-lane to complete the remaining median work at Security Place, Heritage Oaks, and Navy Federal Way.

Westbound traffic remains in 1-lane between Foxtail Loop and Navy Federal Way. This allows the contractor to have the inside lanes to complete the construction of the eastbound left turn lanes into Security Place and Heritage Oaks as well as complete the construction of the concrete traffic island at Security Place and Traffic Separator at Navy Federal Way. However, Roads,Inc. Was able to open the westbound roadway to both lanes from the beginning of the project (Beulah Middle School) to the left turn lane for Foxtail Loop since they had been able to full construct the median work between those points.  There are some minor signal issues that we are addressing. Due to the temporary nature some signal equipment is the new equipment and some is the old. As the transfer to the new is worked through we will see the compatibility issues be resolved."

What are the Reasons Given for the Delay in Completion of the 9-Mile Road 4-Lane Project?

The segment of the 9-mile road project in Beulah between exit 5 and Beulah Road is more than 24 months behind schedule and $6.5 Million over budget.  Apparently, I'm not supposed to be upset about this though---even as I see bright sunny 3-day weekends go by where no work is being done on the site....

Yesterday morning at the Florida Alabama Transportation Planning Organization Meeting I was able to ask representatives of the Florida Department of Transportation about the agonizingly slow progress on completing the 4-lane upgrade of 9-Mile Road in Beulah.

Folks out here that I represent are angry.  And that is putting it politely.

Citizens subjected to this agonizingly slow project and road intersections that are so out of level it is damaging vehicles are fed up.  They are coming to me with angry complaints--but I'm hearing now that I am "coming on too strong" by blogging about this and putting FDOT on the defensive.

My constituents don't care though.  They want answers!

They want to know what I want to know:  Why is this project so badly behind schedule and over budget?

I asked, and here are the initial answers given by FDOT representatives at the TPO in Gulf Breeze yesterday.  These FDOT folks were present and knew my questions would be coming due to media coverage of my blog post from Monday on this topic.

Bryant Paulk, of FDOT, described four major issues/changes that the contractor has been awarded on this segment of the project which have led to the completion deadline slipping.  I have requested, through the executive director of the TPO Austin Mount, to meet with the new FDOT District 3 Director as soon as possible to discuss these issues and get more specific details, and that meeting will take place sometime within the next few weeks I am told.

So here's what's going on according to FDOT yesterday---four major contract change orders, over 1000 additional contract days, have been awarded by FDOT to their contractor on this job:

1.) Change order one was for more and larger noise walls along the side of the project adjacent to Nature Trail Subdivision, at an additional cost of $400K via an addition of 110 contract completion days.

2.) Due to the increase in traffic on the corridor--the contractor was awarded a $2.3 Million Dollar change order and an additional 325 days for completion

3.) To speed up just the first portion of this segment to have the 4-lanes complete between exit 5 and NFCU way--an acceleration award to the contractor was made in the amount of $1.4 Million

4.)  Cistern Leaching over a section of the segment resulted in additional contract completion days and a $1.1 Million dollar addition to the contract.

According to Mr. Paulk--a total of 1,089 additional contract completion days have been added to the contract since it was commenced in 2016.  During the discussion, Mr. Paulk indicated that the initial completion was slated for late 2018---before the addition of the additional contract days for weather and holidays.  He stated that the project is now expected to be completed by May of 2021 and as of right now it is $6.5 Million over budget.

So in my meeting that will be scheduled soon, I will request much more information on these delays and the specifics of the change orders, and I will post what I learn here.

Look--I get it. FDOT is not happy this is over budget and behind schedule.  They want it done ASAP just as we do--just as I do.

The difference is--they are comfortably distanced away from this project unlike me and my constituents who have to navigate this nightmare multiple times daily.  And they also seem quite happy to defend the reasons why this is so badly behind and even seamlessly double-down on how these delays and cost-overages are "normal" and just "part of doing business."  

That's where our agreement ends. This project is an absolute, unmitigated disaster.  

So  I'll be asking for the information and rationale for why they feel this project and these cost overruns and delays are acceptable--because I think it is unacceptable and most of my constituents do as well.

What's Driving the Push for 6-Lanes on 9-Mile Road Now When the Current Project is 2 Years Behind Schedule?

So we see in this morning's PNJ an article outlining FDOT's apparently new push for something "they" think is important:  creating a 6-lane road out of what will within the next year or so (finally) be a 4-lane Nine-Mile Road.

But there are a couple of issues with this....

First---how about we address the 9000 pound elephant in the room FDOT?!?  Why the hell is the current project so badly over-budget and behind schedule?  That is the question residents I represent want to know!!  This entire weekend was brilliant, bright sunshine and no rain---yet I saw NOT ONE worker on 9-Mile road between Mobile Hwy and Exit 5 working.  Why not?  I mean, this project is tracking to be nearly 24 months behind schedule---residents that I represent want to know why this FDOT project is not a 24 hour a day, weekends and nights, priority for completion?  I want to know this too, so I will be asking  this question SPECIFICALLY at the TPO meeting we will be having this Wednesday.

Seriously.  People are pissed off that an entire grocery store (Publix at 9-Mile Road) can be built in less time than it is taking a half mile of two lane road.  Heck, folks are seeing quicker per mile construction over water on the Three Mile Bridge than what they are witnessing on this flat 9-Mile road project through Beulah. This agonizingly, astonishingly slow pace that is suddenly, apparently the new normal is apparently just peachy with FDOT.  I'm going to ask about this SPECIFICALLY as well on Wednesday.

So with this as the backdrop---why are we even talking about making 6-lanes on this road NOW??  Who is pushing this?  Did an outlandish, expensive ($74 million), and inefficient "special interest" idea get laughed out of a room full of Tallahassee deciders a few months back, and is this the "new" project this special interest group now is pushing?  Gosh I hope this is not the new "we gotta have this" project because there are MUCH MORE important projects that need to come first that will have greater impact on the issues out here than talking about 6-Lanes through Beulah.  I have my suspicions, more on that after I get more information from sources familiar this week in the lead up to the TPO meeting.

But in the meantime, if I might be so audacious and bold as to actually describe what is important to folks out here that actually live and drive here:

#1----FIX the interstate and exit five to 2 LANES NOW, add a dedicated turn lane on the West Bound I-10 Shoulder IMMEDIATELY from Pine Forest Road for one mile to exit 5, as currently the cars are stacking up this distance on the shoulder and some drivers needing to get off on exit 5 are actually slowing down and stopping on the freeway in feeble and frantic efforts to merge at the last minute at exit 5.  This is going to lead to a catastrophe if it is not corrected IMMEDIATELY!!  I Know this is a Federal Roadway---but let's get them engaged and get this done before people die!!!!!

#2.  FDOT, for the love of God, MAKE YOUR CONTRACTOR FINISH THIS CURRENT 4-LANE PROJECT IN BEULAH BETWEEN EXIT 5 AND MOBILE HWY.  ENOUGH IS ENOUGH WITH THREE DAY NO WORK WEEKENDS AND LAME EXCUSES WHEN THIS PROJECT IS TRACKING 24 MONTHS BEHIND!!!

#3.  Get moving on the Beulah Interchange project!!  It is elementary to those that live here--even if we are not traffic specialists like you all:  If you pull HALF the Beulah traffic off of 9-Mile Road north to Isaacs lane and what will eventually be our interchange there----this lightens the traffic load on the heavily-congested portion of 9-Mile Road through Beulah on 9-Mile Road in front of NFCU. Hello?!?   Duh??

I am going to start to become RELENTLESS on the ridiculousness of some of what I am seeing with FDOT on this stuff.  Enough is enough with the ridiculousness and fecklessness FDOT!!

What Happened Yesterday Morning on 9-Mile Road?

A signalization malfunction led to unnecessary gridlock during the morning commute on 9-Mile Road this week.  The state's contractor has addressed and corrected the malfunction.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week there was something amiss on 9-Mile Road which was causing a backup all the way down 9-Mile Road to the west as far as Leisure Lakes RV park.

Friday morning it came to a head as folks could not even exit their subdivisions to make a right hand turn onto 9-Mile Road to head toward the interstate.



The choke point was the light at Heritage Oaks and Saltgrass.  It was improperly holding East and West-bound traffic due to a malfunctioning sensor on the smart grid software that was holding the green light north and south between Heritage Oaks and Saltgrass--even when cars were not at that light..  I notified staff and asked for immediate attention to the matter.

This condition was infuriating to drivers but the situation has been addressed as of Friday--and the lights are once again functioning properly.  From an email string resolving this malfunction from yesterday afternoon:

"For an unknown reason Gridsmart detection is activating at the side street, Saltgrass Drive, and no vehicle is present.  Operationally, Nine Mile Road and Heritage Oaks will have a red light and no one will be leaving Saltgrass Drive.  The light for Saltgrass will be green for 10 seconds.  This is an issue that does not normally occur...I have monitored for the past couple hours and it appears to be working.  I sent Gridsmart and Ingram the Diagnostic logs"

Thanks go out to the County's engineering staff and FDOT's signalization contractor for getting the situation resolved.

ABOUT THE STATE DOT's  9-MILE ROAD WIDENING PROJECT....

The section of FDOT's 9-Mile Road from I-10 to Beulah Road project was slated for completion by the end of this month--however the state has recently informed us all that unfortunately once again a completion timeframe has slipped and that now this segment from Navy Federal Way to Beulah Road will be done by "Late Summer" 2020.  I know this has been a nightmare, but I want all citizens to know we have been pushing this project, to get it done.  The county, NFCU, the state--all of us.  Pushing.  Unfortunately it is just dragging on and on and the completion date has slipped again.

But it is coming, and once complete it will GREATLY assist in the traffic flow east and west through Beulah.  And looking forward-once we complete the PD&E study for the Beulah Interchange, we will begin pressing hard for that project to get construction funding in the state's FDOT 5-year work program.  That project, once completed, will reduce East-West traffic on 9-mile road in Beulah by as much as 40%----as the Western portion of Beulah will have a closer option for accessing I-10 and thereby bypassing the NFCU campus and whatever is ultimately developed on the county's OLF 8 site.

This Picture Would Have Been Very Helpful..................Yesterday When FDOT's Press Release Dropped

Apparently, according to a news bulletin put out late yesterday and this article in the PNJ--Westbound access to 9-Mile Road from exit 5 (Beulah) will be closed for construction for up to the next 3 Months.

At least that's what this press release, below, intimates.

If such a plan would have in any way affected travellers heading westbound on I-10 exiting on exit 5 and intending to travel west on 9-Mile Road toward Beulah----such a plan would have been a disaster of epic proportion.

Unfortunately--the late afternoon news release without a map was not clear to many readers.

After emailing the entire world this morning and asking for clarification--I received the below diagram

Illustrating what is actually going to be closed.  If this is what is going to be modified, the impacts will be a lot less severe.   A lot less severe.....

Too bad they didn't add this picture with yesterday's press release.... a lot of folks would not have gone through a lot of stress and anxiety.

Glad to see there will be no diminution of the traffic exiting from I-10 Westbound on to Exit 5 (Heading up the hill to Beulah and NFCU's Campus)

Beulah 9-Mile Road Lane Shift Delayed by One Day Due to Inclement Weather

This email was sent out today from project management regarding the planned lane shift on 9-Mile Road that had been planned for today....

Due to wet conditions on the pavement, saturated raw materials for asphalt, and the high potential for thunderstorms tonight the planned shift has been moved to tomorrow night PENDING WEATHER. We don’t want/need  to get partially through the shift and get into a situation where we cannot place the striping at the transitions or complete the pavement necessary at Security Place to tie to the new roadway (can’t be done until traffic is off the existing roadway).

Michael Lenga

Project Administrator

Radiation Safety Officer

Stantec

8130 Pittman Ave.

Pensacola, FL 32534

9-Mile Road Lane Shift in Beulah is Coming Monday

This coming Monday morning, the traffic on 9-Mile Road in Beulah will shift as depicted above....

Beginning this Monday, the switch to the south side of the recently painted and striped 9-Mile Road section from Leisure Lakes to just before the 11-Mile Creek Bridge will occur.

This change will allow crews to begin repaving and re striping work on the currently-utilized north half of what will eventually be the 2 westbound lanes of 9-Mile Road.

In speaking with NFCU leadership, this change may represent a significant challenge as the deceleration lane leading into the campus will no longer be accessible under this temporary configuration--which may have the effect of backing traffic up further to the east on 9-Mile road than what is currently happening.  So although this shift is temporary--it will exacerbate the existing traffic bottleneck in this area, particularly during morning and evening rush hour.

I want constituents to be aware of this change so that they can make alternative route decisions if they so choose.  This shift is scheduled for THIS COMING MONDAY NIGHT--August 26th.

The latest information I have heard is that the 4-lanes will be complete between exit 5 and the NFCU campus main entrance by this November, and 4 complete lanes all the way to Beulah Road by March of next year.

Update on the Beulah Traffic Light from Today-6-18-2019....

I received the above email today about the issues with the lights at NFCU on 9-Mile Road in Beulah.

As I discussed yesterday--the timing went haywire on Friday of last week causing all kinds of consternation among residents out here over the weekend.

With cautious optimism that we got the issue resolved, I post the email (above) I received today on this subject.....

What Happened to the Beulah Traffic Signals over this past Weekend--What is Happening Right Now?

This weekend in Beulah--the traffic signals on 9-Mile Road in front of Navy Federal Credit Union's two eastern-most entrances were way out of sync.

Something was definitely wrong--as the traffic began to stack up on 9-Mile Road going East and West---even though there were no cars going into or out of NFCU.  I was out running errands on Saturday and Sunday and knew, immediately, that something was wrong.

"Why is traffic stopped at 10:30AM on a Saturday??"

Drivers were getting frustrated---several went around cars waiting at the light and drove through the red lights.

So I immediately fired off emails to see if we could get this fixed ASAP.

And staff deserves credit for immediately engaging and working toward the solution right away.  Here are the emails:

"David [Forte],

This weekend the lights on 9-mile road at NFCU way and security place were WAY out of whack.  This created a nightmare for those of us going back and forth with our lives in and out of Beulah.  There would be long delays at both lights----long and unnecessary----even though there was zero traffic coming into and going out of NFCU.  It was ridiculous.  Can someone please look into this and see what went sideways with the timing this weekend—and can we please look at getting this fixed?  Thanks!

R/

Jeff Bergosh

Escambia Board of County Commissioners,

District 1

221 Palafox Place Suite 400

Pensacola, FL 32502

850-595-4910 office

850-377-2209 Voicemail

District1@myescambia.com

www.jeffbergoshblog.blogspot.com

@jeffbergosh"

To which I received the following responses:

"Will report this immediately.

Thanks."

"Kelli/Eric,

Please see the below email from Commissioner Bergosh re: the two traffic signals on 9 Mile Road and Navy Federal (Navy Federal Way and Heritage Oaks), and direct/respond accordingly. 

Please, also, advise as to the resolution(s).

Thanks."

This afternoon I received an email describing what caused the signal timing issue, and also the resolution:

"All:

On Friday Ingram Signalizations’ directional bore crew begain installation of the new signal conduit to service the intersection of Heriatage Oaks and 9-Mile Road. Currently the entire intersection is operating using temporary loops. As work progressed from the installation of the water and sewer, through the roadway pavement several splices and temporary connections were made. During the directional boring the crew inadvertantly hit the homerun (the main connection for the loops beneath the roadway. The crews did not recognize that they had damaged the loops and the signal went into the default mode and operated on the timing. There is not much impact or change during the day, however it became very noticable during the evening hours and thus the compalints were received.

Ingram was on-site this morning troubleshooting the issue. They discovered the damage and tried to make repairs however, they were onable to locate one end. They pulled new cabling and have completed re-wiring of the intersection and it is back in actuation mode. Ingram also reviewed the Navy Federal Intersection and all loops and cameras were functioning properly."

I'm told the technicians are still working the issue as of right now....as the first fix hasn't solved the problem...

"Mr. Bergosh:

My staff just reported that the signal seems to be lagging again. We have contacted Ingram Signalization and they will go back out and see what is happening.

Sincerely,

Michael Lenga

Project Administrator

Radiation Safety Officer

Stantec

8130 Pittman Ave."

The Latest from FDOT on Segment 6 (Beulah Rd. to I-10) of the Project to 4-Lane 9-Mile Road

Although we all wanted it completed earlier--the Beulah portion of the 4-lane project on 9-mile road will be completed this year!

Many folks in Beulah have been asking about the lack of progress on the project to 4-lane 9-Mile Road from Beulah Road over to Interstate 10.

I know the completion date has slipped due to numerous factors--but folks want to know what's up with this project so I asked FDOT for an up-to-the minute update and status of where we are, and I will cut and paste it below for folks who want to read it all.

But the good news is this:  Segment 6 (from Beulah Road to the Interstate--where all the gridlock is for us Beulah residents) is slated to be done this year, in late 2019.

This is fantastic news because I heard persistent rumors that it would not be complete until as late as August, 2020.

But I confirmed, today, that the Beulah portion will be 4 lanes and open to traffic by the end of this year.

From the report:

"CONTRACT E3O54

Financial Project ID (FIN): 218605-6-52-01; Road Construction Project from a point just west of Beulah Road to Below Interstate 10

FIN: 218605-7-52-01; Road Construction Project from Below Interstate 10 to a point just west of Surrey Drive (west of Pine Forest Road)

FIN: 218605-6-56-01; Utility Construction Project (relocate ECUA water and sewer mains and services) from a point just west of Beulah Road to Below Interstate 10

FIN: 218605-7-56-01; Utility Construction Project (relocate ECUA water and sewer mains and services) from Below Interstate 10 to just west of Surrey Drive (west of Pine Forest Road)

Contract time began: 3/31/16

Design began: 3/31/16

Released for Construction Plans stamped: 2/1/17

Revision #1 stamped: 3/8/17

Revision #2 stamped: 4/14/17

Revision #3 stamped: 4/25/17

Revision #4 stamped: 5/3/17

Revision #5 stamped: 7/3/18

Revision #6 stamped: 8/17/18

Revision #7 stamped: 12/26/18

Revision #8 stamped 12/7/18

Both Utility Projects FIN 218605-6-56-01 and FIN 218605-7-56-01 were completed in May 2017. The relocation of the utilities was necessary to begin the road construction. Please note that clearing and grubbing operations began in September of 2016 to advance the utility relocation projects.

Storm water drainage, unsuitable soils removal and bridge construction began in February 2017. Bridge construction was completed in November 2017.

On October 3, 2017 the Contractor implemented their Maintenance of Traffic (MOT) plan and closed the inside lanes in the existing four (4) lane section to begin construction of work beneath Interstate 10 (I-10). Due to the volume of traffic on westbound Nine Mile Rd. and exiting westbound I-10 traffic backed-up past Pine Forest Road (on Nine Mile Road and on I-10). To mitigate traffic backing up onto westbound I-10 as well as Nine Mile Road the Department directed the Contractor to remove the MOT and reopen the lanes. This started the delay to the critical path. The Contractor was directed to redesign the MOT to maintain the two (2) westbound lanes on Nine Mile Road. As the Engineers worked to modify the MOT they discovered that the limited right of way would not allow them to design a plan that would maintain both westbound lanes and allow for the lowering and increase in elevation/grade. There are specific requirements for slopes, drop-off, barrier wall, and work space. There was not enough space to meet the requirements. It was determined that a full redesign of the roadway was necessary to maintain the existing two (2) lanes. During this redesign the critical path was stopped. Crews scheduled to work were redirected to other projects and some crews were allocated to work on the roadway section between Beulah Road and Eleven Mile Creek. 

Revisions #5 was received and stamped 7/3/18 and crews were able to return to work on items that have not changes as we negotiated the cost of the changes. This delayed the project over 190 days. During the negotiations the costs were much higher than anticipated and additional redesign was needed to try to get the cost to a more reasonable limit. Revision #8 was stamped 12/7/18 and we anticipate completing the negotiations for the changes this week.

The Projects had weather that significantly impacted the work. Weather does not just affect the project for the day it rains, the impact can extend for days due to the wet conditions of the soils and lime rock base. Each lift of soil, subgrade, base, etc. must meet specific material requirements and densities. These densities are heavily dependent on the moisture content of the materials. The Segment 6 Project (FIN 218605-6-52-01) is impacted more due to the water table being so close to the surface of the ground and the poor quality of the existing soils and its ability to perk water.

The project schedule was also impacted by legal issues related to right of way takings. Several properties remain open under Stipulated Orders of Taking. Impacts from these Orders have impacted the roadway design and construction between the Eleven Mile Creek and the Interstate. In late July 2018 the access design was approved by the legal team. The approved design caused a significant amount of re-work of some buried utilities before the construction could begin. This was completed in January 2019.

The Contract’s Critical path was delayed 190 days for the redesign (identified above), 316 days due

Read The FDOT Project Manager's Written Update on 9-Mile Road Widening Project in Beulah.....

Work on the project to widen 9-Mile Road from two to four lanes through Beulah has slowed to a crawl.  The FDOT project manager has provided a written explanation of the reasons for this....

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is the entity that is managing the project to widen 9-Mile Road.  This project's completion date has slipped, the work has slowed, and I have been contacted by numerous frustrated residents in Beulah that feel as though the work on this  project to 4-lane the section from Beulah Road to the Interstate has all but been abandoned....From one recent email:

" The 200 meter section from the new bridge to the I-10 ramp has not been worked on. The road from the entrance to Nature Trail to the new bridge appears to be pretty much completed. Why has nothing further been completed?  The small area, once completed, will alleviate traffic problems. The short 100 meters of road under I-10 was torn up but never repaired. So, a two lane section has been rendered useless to a single lane traffic heading east..The primary sections of the U.S.’s interstate system were built in about 35 years. And, that was begun in the 50’s.  I am not very impressed with today’s competence that cannot build and finish a 1-2 mile stretch of road in Escambia County in two years.  Frankly, all involved should be embarrassed."

The FDOT project manager, to her credit, immediately responded to a request I made for an update on this project.  Below is her email update on this portion of the project, specifically:

"Thank you for your interest in the Nine Mile Road widening project. Work is currently focused at the tie-ins near the connection between Leisure Lakes RV Park and Beulah Road. Crews are concentrating on completing the exposed portions of the work in an effort to minimize potential erosion. The project has received a substantial amount of rain over the last several months and this has impacted the ability of the project team to productively work on the roadway embankment, subgrade and limerock base. The rains have also impacted the ability to grade the ditches and place the concrete ditch pavement. Regrettably, it seems every time the crews grade the ditch, adverse weather conditions cause a delay.

On the other end of the project limits, near the I-10 interchange, the team recently received approval of the final design from FDOT for the driveway at Spectrum Systems (3410 Nine Mile Road). Crews have worked to relocate the water mains and water service in this area. It is critical to get this driveway constructed so the new stormwater retention pond and associated drainage can be completed. Once this is accomplished, crews will be able to return to work widening the remaining

New North-South Route between Mobile Hwy and 9-Mile Road West of I-10 a Possibility

A large mixed-use development planned for NW District 1 has the potential to create a public/private partnership to improve roadways and drainage issues for the entire area

Congestion in the NW portion of District 1 is an issue with which all of us that live here contend on a daily basis.  I have been looking for a way to create another North/South connector road between 9-Mile Road and Mobile Hwy West of  I-10 ever since I have been on the BCC--because due to the growth of this area this is desperately needed.  We looked at a number of roads and routes--yet none of these (Jamesville Lane, 8-Mile Creek) were feasible due to high costs and/or various other factors (wetlands, bridge over 11-Mile creek, no land owned, etc.)  With most of the previously investigated potential routes, the costs for building such a road would have fallen squarely, 100%, on the taxpayers.

Recently, I have been in talks with county staff and a private development company regarding this issue.

Pathstone, a large, mixed use development planned just East of Beulah on 9-Mile Road, has expressed interest in partnering with the county to develop a road through their property connecting to Klondike road--which would help this area by also providing another North-South connector road between 9-Mile road and Mobile Highway, west of I-10.  The benefits to the county and the taxpayers is the fact that under this scenario--the costs are split between the private sector and the county for a portion of this new roadway.  For the developer, this new roadway through provides more access to both their residential and commercial tenants. For residents that have complained to me over and over about the problems on Wilde Lake and Klondike--this sort of a partnership will allow for improvements to these roadways all the way to Pine Forest Road/Exit 7 on the I-10.

Currently, many residents who are opposing a zoning change on Klondike Road south of Wilde Lake have cited deficient roadway infrastructure and insufficient drainage as a major issue that they want

FDOT Announces a Public Hearing for February 20th RE: 9-Mile Road 4-Lane Project in Beulah--

From FDOT today:

RE:    State Road (S.R.) 10 (Nine Mile Road/U.S. 90) Multilane Reconstruction from S.R. 10A (U.S. 90) to County Road (C.R.) 99 (Beulah Road), Escambia County

Financial Project Identification Number:  218605-5-32-01

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will hold a public hearing concerning proposed access management modifications on the above-referenced project from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. CST Tuesday, February 20, 2018 at Smyrna Baptist Church, 7000 Pensacola Boulevard, Pensacola. The hearing will begin with an informal open house at 5:30 p.m., followed by a formal presentation and public comment period at 6 p.m. 

The intent of this project is to increase capacity, improve safety, and accommodate bicycle and pedestrian traffic.  Improvements include widening the 1.8-mile section of Nine Mile Road from a two to four-lane rural roadway with a 40-foot grassed median, buffered bicycle lanes, sidewalks, and drainage upgrades. There are proposed operational improvements at Allegheny Avenue and the Fire Station.   Tower Ridge Road will also be realigned with Nine Mile Road as part of the project. Right-of-way is needed for this project.  Construction is not currently funded in the FDOT Five Year Work Program.  

Additional project information is available and can be viewed here.  The handout will also be available at the hearing.  Maps, drawings, and other information will be on display.  FDOT representatives will be available to discuss proposed improvements, answer questions, and receive comments. Your comments are welcome and appreciated.

Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability, or family status. Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation services (free of charge) should contact Sandra Lamb, P.E., FDOT Project Manager, toll-free at (866) 855-7275 at least seven days prior to the meeting.

Should you have any questions regarding the project or this hearing, please contact Sandra Lamb at the number above or via email at Sandra.Lamb@atkinsglobal.com.  You may also contact Ian Satter, District Three Public Information Director, toll-free at (888) 638-0250, extension 1205, or by email at ian.satter@dot.state.fl.us.