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State Completes Plans For Hwy 29, Hwy 97 Traffic Light; Construction Soon
August 19, 2014
Plans have been completed, and Escambia County is set to make a deposit of just over a quarter of a million dollars to install a new traffic signal at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino.
Last October, the Escambia County Commission affirmed its support for improvements at the intersection and expressed a willingness for the county to pay for the red light at the intersection. A Florida Department of Transportation study determined the intersection did meet the criteria for the light, with an agreement in place that FDOT would design and construct the upgrades with Escambia County paying for the construction.
FDOT has completed the design phase and determined that Escambia County’s estimated cost for construction will be an estimated $265,400 for mast arms and signals at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97. The Escambia County Commission is expected to approve payment at their Thursday meeting, with the payment to be made within 14 days.
According to District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry’s office, construction is anticipated to begin in late September or early October with a completion date by the end of the year.
A redesign of the Crabtree Church Road intersection with Highway 97, which is just feet from Highway 29, also also expected to take place as separate project.
Pictured: Traffic crashes at the Highway 29 and Highway 97 intersection in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
20 Responses to “State Completes Plans For Hwy 29, Hwy 97 Traffic Light; Construction Soon”
It’s going to be worse, now when turning off 29 onto atmore highway from the south if the light is green people will not look ahead to see if there is a vehicle waiting to turn onto Crabtree, I really hope people understand if the intersection for Crabtree is not relocated it’s going to get worse. Everyone thinks a light is the answer, slowing down and paying attention is the answer.
there needs to be a reduction of speed like their is in century. a half a mile before tom thumb and a half a mile before frans the speed limit needs to go down from 65 to 55 to 45 then 35 just like century. there is no need for people to be going 55 and really more like 75 through Molino.
I think a traffic light will help. It will certainly be better than what we have there now. As far as the comments below about rain, speeding, and distracted drivers go…they will likely cause a wreck at any intersection or right-of-way. We are so fast to say we need troopers out there at this intersection but on the same dime we gripe when they take so long to respond to wrecks throughout the state. As our population and economy grow our likelihood of wrecks does also. Big thanks to the VFD for responding to all the incidents there. They get out of bed, take time out of their lives risking their own, and come help for ZERO dollars.
traffic light isn;t going to solve the answers and will make it worse….and that money can be put somewhere else…much needed,but our comments isn’t addressed so…good luck everyone.
The Tom Thumb two driveway entrance’s will become a short cut for folks in a big hurry trying to turn south on 29 from the Atmore highway.
Another thing, there is a hill right there and the speed limit is 65. It drops to 55 but I have never seen anyone do it. I am always being passed and getting run over for slowing down through there.
When they top that hill they will be hitting a red light. What if traffic has already stopped, (say 3 or 4 cars have already stopped) and a log truck is coming on over that hill, in the rain? Then what?
A traffic light is not the answer. It’s a bad, bad, bad idea.
A light is not going to help. People are just going to run a red light anyway.
You can’t change stupid!!
The problem with red lights are that I see folks run them all the time.
The problem is you have a bunch of speed demons driving 97, very few ever obey posted speed limit, so when they get to 29 there in such a hurry then wham!!!! Its all over.
A traffic light will not fix operator error.
The Crabtree Church Road entrance is under another project? What good is one without the other? Now you’re going to have a left turn light and people strung out across the road while someone is trying to make a left onto Crabtree Church Road; an even bigger accident waiting to happen.
I’ve been saying forever that a turn light will only create accidents further up rte 97 as the faster drivers try to pass the slower ones, now with the redesign of the Crabtree Church Road intersection you will have increased accidents at 29 and will still have more further up 97. If people would only pay attention we wouldn’t have a problem.
This doesn’t solve the problem. It’s a huge inconvenience that doesn’t provide an adequate solution.
I think most of ya’ll are missing the point – you ever heard of “yielding the right of way” , when driving. Also , I’ve seen a lot of people pull out or turn in front of “big trucks” when they think they can “beat the traffic” – its better to wait than be sorry … “hint” big trucks can’t stop on a dime unlike autos !
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From the drawing, it still appears that north traffic on 29 can still turn left and directly across the south 29 lanes into the Tom Thumb. PROBLEM NOT SOLVED and a huge waste of money.”
Yep, and if someone is making a “right on red” from 97 onto 29 they’ll hit them. The entrance into Tom Thumb needs to be moved southward about 30 feet so people can’t cross.
me on August 19th, 2014 12:41 am
“I don’t have a problem with the intersection the way it is now since I pay attention when I am driving. Of course there are people who seem to be in another world when they are driving and just cant grasp the concept of looking where you are going. The pictures above prove that point. So, I guess spending tons of money on something such as this has to happen. That area is plenty open and there is no reason for all the wrecks.”
I competely concur, but then that is also the problem with Byrneville Rd. and Hwy 29. IDIOTS don’t pay attention!
From what I can tell, they aren’t doing anything about extending the median on the south side of the intersection. The northbound turn lane where people turning from 29 into Tom Thumb. I’ve had to go around people so that I could turn onto 97. Too much going on at this intersection.
I agree with the previous poster. Once the light is installed, what will we blame all the crashes on?
From the drawing, it still appears that north traffic on 29 can still turn left and directly across the south 29 lanes into the Tom Thumb. PROBLEM NOT SOLVED and a huge waste of money.
What a shame, wasting taxpayer dollars. We are putting a bandaid on a sympton rather than fixing the problem. The problem being people. There are already traffic laws in place that would properly regulate the flow of traffic at this intersection. If people paid attention and followed the traffic laws, then there would never be a vehicle collision (no such thing as an accident, someone is alwaus at fault). Can’t blame the intersection. Start writing tickets for traffic violations and you start to change people’s habits. A traffic light will not force people to pay attention. A traffic light will not keep people from breaking the law. Instead, lets try to restrict people and limit their ability to be an adult and take responsibility for their actions. A system wide probelm in this country.
This intersection has many problems. Too many people speeding north and south, too many people trying to cross into and out of Tom Thumb, people trying to exit Crabtree Church road onto 97 while the traffic from the school and general traffic backs up on 97, and then people trying to cross 29 going east or west. It is only a matter of time until there is an accident involving a school bus. And then of course there are people making right turns onto and off of 29. Every week there is at least one accident up there, even if it is just a fender bender. Don’t know if a light will help or not but it might slow some of the speeders down a bit.
I don’t have a problem with the intersection the way it is now since I pay attention when I am driving. Of course there are people who seem to be in another world when they are driving and just cant grasp the concept of looking where you are going. The pictures above prove that point. So, I guess spending tons of money on something such as this has to happen. That area is plenty open and there is no reason for all the wrecks. I say make it harder to get a drivers license and then only those that can truly drive will be on the road and then we wont need all these expensive solutions that are put in place for those that cant drive in the first place.