The Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved a $1 million state grant Tuesday for the Santa Rosa Boulevard Improvement Project, advancing the first phase of a long-planned infrastructure overhaul on Okaloosa Island.
- The Local Transportation Project grant from FDOT will fund construction from the first beach park east to the Brooks Bridge project limits. The county will provide a local match of $2,802,281 from infrastructure sales-tax (surtax) reserves, bringing the total Phase 1 construction cost to $3,802,281.
“Because of the Board’s prioritization, the state’s awarding us with $1 million to construct the first phase of Santa Rosa Boulevard Project,” Scott Bitterman, Public Works Director, told commissioners during Tuesday’s meeting.
The project aims to improve pedestrian and roadway safety by reducing vehicle lanes and adding a multi-use path, while also addressing heavy rainfall flooding through stormwater enhancements and improving the boulevard’s overall aesthetic design.
- State Rep. Patt Maney helped secure the $1 million appropriation during the 2024-25 legislative session.
The project started seven years ago when the county began planning the new Brooks Bridge. The current design, approved in October 2021, calls for reducing Santa Rosa Boulevard from five lanes near the bridge down to two lanes with bike lanes at the western end. A roundabout will be built near El Matador.
The full project scope includes a 14-foot wide multi-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians along the entire roadway length, seven solar powered pedestrian crosswalk systems at upgraded beach park access crossings, and large swales for stormwater management to reduce flooding.
- Design plans are 60% complete, with 90% plans currently in progress. The county previously approved $400,000 in surtax reserves in August to complete design work for Phase 1.
Florida Power & Light is preparing a cost estimate for burying electric and cable utilities along the corridor. Bitterman said he will bring that cost to the Commissioners for direction when the information becomes available. The Phase 1 construction costs do not include potential utility undergrounding expenses.
“It’s still unknown if we will be burying the electric and cable utilities there,” Bitterman said. “Our friends at FPL will be giving us that binding cost estimate in the near future.”
The new Brooks Bridge design will eliminate the current traffic signal, allowing cars to flow underneath Highway 98, loop around and come up onto Brooks Bridge in a dedicated receiving lane.
Construction could begin within a year and a half, pending Brooks Bridge progress. The total construction cost for the full project is $7.6 million.
4 Responses
No bicycle rider will ever ride in the center of car traffic. Bicycles need their own path in the outside or on the sidewalk.
How about fixing Eglin Parkway first. That’s the road the tourists travel getting to Okalossa Island remember?
So reducing the roadway from 4 lanes to 2 lanes increasing the traffic density 100% and putting bicycle and foot paths in the center of all that makes sense?? This will insure traffic jams, pedestrian deaths and emergency vehicle snarls the likes of which we’ve not seen!!
You’re not thinking straight. I hope you’re going to fix Eglins pot holes FIRST.