FDOT Tentative 5-Year Work Program for Wakulla County Roads

Greetings all,

{sidebar id=1}I just returned from a Florida Department of Transportation briefing concerning the tentative 5-year work program and thought I would pass along what I learned.

Additions to the 5-year work Program:

Live Oak Island Road from Shell Point road to the end of the road will be resurfaced in 2009. $1,063,000 of Small County Outreach Program money will be used to do this work. (No direct cost to Wakulla County)
Mashes Sands Road will be resurfaced in 2009. $593,000 of Small County Resurfacing Assistance Program money will be used to do this work. (No direct cost to Wakulla County)
A turn lane at Crawfordville Hwy and Bloxham Cutoff will be added to Bloxham cutoff intersections in 2009. $903,000 of safety money will be used for this project. Thanks to the work of the Community Traffic Safety Team Chaired by Mrs. Pat Jones for their work in getting this improvement done. I know we are also working to get turn lanes at other intersections in Wakulla County.
Engineering to resurface Crawfordville Hwy from Wakulla Arran Rd to the Leon County will be done in 2009. The actual resurfacing will be done in 2012 at a cost of $7,416,000.
Start engineering to widen Woodville Highway from Commerce Lane to the Leon County line. Woodville Highway from the Leon County line to Capital Circle was included in the Leon County Plan.

State Road Improvements (excluding additions noted above):

Replace Wakulla River’s Lower Bridge (Hwy 98) to begin in 2009 at a cost of $7,175,000.
Add a turn lane at Russell Drive in 2011 at a cost of $774,000.
Sopchoppy Hwy will be resurfaced from Franklin County line to Beasley Rd in 2011 at a cost of $4,132,000.
Add a turn lane at Aaron Strickland Rd in 2011 at a cost of $1,521,000.

Local Road Improvements paid for by the FDOT (excluding additions noted above):

Bike/walking trail on Mashes Sands/Surf road delayed from 2009 to 2010 due to changing the side of the road the bike/walking path will be located on. Total cost: $1,337,000.
Bike/walking trail in St. Marks Wildlife refuge to begin in 2010 (on schedule) at a cost of $600,000.

Aviation:

Wakulla County Airport aviation preservation project. $75,000 in 2012.

Public Transit and Transportation Disadvantaged:

Senior Center transportation for people who cannot provide transportation for themselves (not necessarily elderly): $198,000.
Transportation Disadvantaged planning and operations: $18,000 each year for planning and $162,000 each year for operations.

Authors privilege: Notice the FDOT has no plans to “four lane” Hwy 319 in the next 5 years. There is no money to do this work in the next 20 years and probably longer. It is incumbent upon Wakulla County to find a way to improve our citizen’s health and safety as well as their quality of life by building an alternative corridor through Wakulla County using parts of Old Shell Point Rd, Old Bethel Rd, Cajer Posey Rd, Alexander Rd, and Rehwinkle Rd. This corridor could be a direct route from Hwy 98 to Crawfordville Hwy where Crawfordville Hwy turns into a four lane in Leon County. The Board of County Commissioners could mandate low levels of service on this road to prevent it from becoming as overcrowded as Hwy 319. Upon completion, the board could also reduce the level of service on Hwy 319 to prevent from immediately returning to the unacceptable level of cars it currently has. Growth can and must be planned. As a side note, this corridor could be named the MLK, Jr. Expressway. What better tribute than to name a road that improves the lives of every citizen in Wakulla County after a man who improved the lives of so many American Citizens?

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas Season and Happy New Year!

Ed Brimner
Chairman, Wakulla County Commission (District III)
(850) 251-8709 (Cell)
(850) 926-0919 (Office)
(850) 926-0940 (FAX)

This information originally published on November 26, 2007.

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