U.S. 98 work, West Bay Connector among proposed projects

Group OKs roads plan

By Tom McLaughlin Florida Freedom Newspapers

PANAMA CITY
Two years of operating in relative obscurity came to an abrupt end Thursday for the Northwest Florida
Transportation Corridor Authority.

In front of a full house and several news organizations that had largely ignored its existence, the
Corridor Authority approved a master plan for road development across eight counties. The plan, designed to ease congestion on U.S. 98 and provide hurricane evacuation routes, will be used
as a blueprint for road construction in Northwest Florida for years.

The plan maps out specific road improvements and new roads, including seven large-scale projects that
run through at least a portion of Bay County. Their combined cost is about $1.6 billion.
The map approved Thursday was identical to the one that HDR Engineering representatives
recommended last month.

However, board members assured visitors that no asphalt will be laid until every effort is made to assure
that the steps being taken are the right ones.

“This is not a perfect plan. These lines are not in exact alignment,” said Vice Chairman Jay Odom. “I
hope you all understand this is an evolving process. Nothing is going to occur without all the steps we’re
required to take being taken. We can all look at different places where people didn’t look into the future
and they had disastrous results.”

The projects include a Freeport-West Bay Connector that would run southeast from U.S. 331 near
Freeport in Walton County to State 77 near its intersection with County 388, the main route to the
relocated airport in West Bay.

There also is a West Bay Bypass that would run northeast from U.S. 98 in South Walton County and
connect with the Freeport-West Bay Connector just west of State 79.

The Hathaway Bridge corridor is slated for two projects: additional work to the Thomas Drive Flyover
and a new interchange on the east side of the bridge at 23rd Street and U.S. 98.

The master plan includes the 27-mile Gulf Coast Parkway that runs southeast from U.S. 231 to U.S. 98
in Mexico Beach and a connector road for the parkway that runs east from U.S. 98 along State 22. Also
on the plan is the widening of County 2321 to four lanes between State 77 and U.S. 231.

The next step calls for the Corridor Authority to take the master plan to each of the eight counties
represented on the board. Commissioners in each county and the region’s state legislators will be asked
to sign off on it.

Board members praised the final product, which is the end result of a process that began in 2005.
“I think it’s a great plan for the future of the Panhandle,” said Chairman Randall McElheney.
The board’s unanimous approval came only after more than an hour of mostly negative public input.
Most people who spoke complained that new routes or road improvements would somehow harm the
environment.

“We are concerned that over one-third of the proposed projects in the corridor are new roadways into
undeveloped natural lands,” said Gail Carmody, a Panama Citybased representative of the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service. “We urge you to take a step back and conduct a more detailed analysis before zeroing
in on a recommended corridor.”

Others also called for the board to delay approval. Some said they hadn’t had time to assess the
proposed master plan properly and respond to it.

“I’m amazed you can come up with hundreds of millions of dollars of projects with so little input,” said
M.C. Davis, the owner of the conservation-minded Nokuse Plantation. One proposed road in the master plan runs through the plantation.

McElheney was bothered by objections from people who said they had not seen or heard anything about
the Corridor Authority. He said the board has gone overboard to make sure the public was aware of its
existence and the plan it was developing.
“I’ve been interviewed by you dozens of times. I’ve done countless numbers of interviews. All of our
meetings are advertised and at every meeting we’ve had unlimited public comment,” McElheney told a
reporter.

“The public has been made aware. They may have chosen not to participate in our public meetings, but
they have been made aware,” he said.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Nature Conservancy, the Scenic Highway Foundation of Escambia County,
the Northwest Florida Water Management District and Metropolitan Planning Organizations in Leon
and Wakulla counties sent representatives to the meeting. They all requested more participation in the
planning process.

Speaking for the board, Odom welcomed all public support.
“We look forward to everyone being involved and to the master plan evolving to be the best plan we can
possibly have,” he said.

The News Herald staff contributed to this story.