U.S. Highway 87 cut from state budget
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Local transportation officials feel like they’ve been short changed by the state. County Commissioners and City Council members from Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties were concerned as they learned that more than $10 million in funding for the widening of Avalon Boulevard and Highway 87 would not be available as planned. Despite their concerns, the Florida- Alabama Transportation Organization (TPO) voted to accept the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) tentative five-year work program. FDOT representative Regina Battles said rejection of the plan would be noted by the department, but would not hinder its implementation.

“The TPO appreciates the FDOT’s District Three efforts to fund TPO project priorities within budget program limitations. However, the TPO is very disappointed in the level of state

and federal funding, resulting in important transportation projects not getting funded or delayed,” said Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Tom Stewart, reading a prepared statement drafted by the TPO. “The second comment is the TPO requests the Governor and the Florida Legislature address the critical need for project cost controls and additional state and federal revenues to fund transportation needs in Florida.”

Battles said funding was removed for the projects because of budget cuts related to inflation.

“As I look to the east I see a lot more work going on in other counties than in Santa Rosa County,” said Santa Rosa County Commissioner W.D. “Don” Salter. Salter requested TPO staff generate charts to document the work being done in other parts of the state.

In response to allegations that Santa Rosa County residents were being left out of the transportation funding picture, Battles said other projects in the FDOT’s District Three, which includes 16 counties from Escambia to Jefferson, had also seen budget cuts. Okaloosa County had a $32 million project delayed for one year until 2012 and Gadsden County lost a $25 million project, Battles said.

The announcement of the cuts comes at a time when the area’s state legislative delegation were present in Northwest Florida to talk to local leaders about the upcoming 2007 regular legislative session and special

session.

“The big issues on transportation are always present,” said State Sen. Durell Peadn, Jr. “There’s been a cut back in the last day or so on committed dollars to Highway 87. We going to try and get that back and lined up to make sure they’re funded. Making sure we have access to Alabama [for hurricane evacuation] is always a big issue.”