Widening of State Road 87 North Moves Forward

Widening of State Road 87 North Moves Forward
In December 2011, the Florida Department of Transportation announced the addition of $3 million to its Five Year Work Program to design the five-mile segment from NAS Whiting Field to Coldwater Creek for widening to four lanes. For over a decade, the county has worked in partnership with federal and state legislative delegations, FDOT, the Florida – Alabama Transportation Planning Organization, NAS Whiting Field, and Eglin Air Force Base to improve the north-south State Road 87 corridor. This has resulted in the widening of segments from Milton to NAS Whiting Field, through Navarre, from Hickory Hammock Road to US 90, and more recently through Holley. The SR 87 Connector study to connect SR 87N and SR 87S is part of this effort. Coincidentally, the announcement was released on the same day as a SR 87 Summit held by the county to keep the momentum going to fund remaining segments.
After design comes right-of-way acquisition and construction, so it may be many years before we see dirt turning on the segment now funded for design. Meanwhile, the county continues to take advantage of all funding opportunities including application for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery or TIGER grants now available from the U.S. Department of Transportation.