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Six Lanes For Hwy 29? Four Lanes For Hwy 97? Rural Transportation Projects Prioritized
April 25, 2025
Six lanes for Highway 29? Four lanes for Highway 97? Those are just a few of the proposed projects on the Regional Rural Transportation Plan (RRTP) 2025 Transportation Project Priorities list — a list of proposed projects that aim to improve mobility, safety, and connectivity across rural area of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa counties, as well as all of Holmes and Washington counties.
The RRTP Technical Advisory Committee will consider the project priority rankings, possibly changing the priority order, during a meeting on May 21. The list will then be sent to the Emerald Coast Regional Council board for consideration, also on May 21. The final list will be sent to the Florida Department of Transportation for consideration and possible funding.
Proposed projects in Escambia County are listed below by their priority ranking.
In the following list, PD&E notes “Project Development and Environment Study” and PE notes “Preliminary Engineering (Design)”. None of the listed projects have been approved or funded to date.
Capacity Project Priorities
2. Highway 29 FL/AL Connector — widen to six lanes from I-10 to the state line in Century – Feasibility Study
6. Highway 97 — widen to four lanes from Highway 29 to state line at Atmore — PD&E
8. Highway 4 (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa) — widen to four lanes from Highway 29 in Century to Baker – Feasibility Study
Resurfacing Project Priorities
1. Highway 164 — resurface from Highway 97 to Highway 29 (widening not included) – PE
2. Highway 168 — resurface from Highway 99 to Highway 4A – PE
4. Highway 4 — resurface from Highway 97 to Highway 99 – PE
6. State Line Road — resurface 0.4 miles in the Century town limits – PE
7. Molino Road — resurface from Highway 29 to Highway 95A – PE
8. Highway 196 — resurface from Highway 29 to Highway 95A – PE.
Safety Project Priorities
3. Highway 29 & Highway 98 at Crabtree Church Road — high crash area — Safety Study
Bike/Ped/Trails Project Priorities
6. Highway 4 — shared use path from Highway 29 in Century to baker — TBD
Freight Project Priorities
3. Escambia AL & Gulf Coast Rail — track and tie rehab — PE
TA Project Priorities
3. Complete Streets Master Plan — Highway 29 from State Road 4 to County Road 4 –$125,000
4. Freedom Road Safety Enhancement — sidewalks, curb ramps, bike lanes from Highway 4 to Jefferson Avenue — $1.5 million
To see the complete project priority list, including all counties, click here (pdf).
The priorities are submitted annually to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) as part of the statewide transportation planning process to support coordination across rural and regional efforts.
Comments
24 Responses to “Six Lanes For Hwy 29? Four Lanes For Hwy 97? Rural Transportation Projects Prioritized”
Is this Tech Advisory meeting open to the public on May 21? And what time will the meeting take place?
I think the 4 lane priority in the panhandle will be US 331 from DeFuniak Dprings to Florala, and SR 4/SR 189 from Milligan to just south of Wing.
With US 29 already 4 laned and with ample capacity at all hours in the rural designated zone (not talking about the TPO area), I doubt SR 97 would be 4 laned anytime soon.
I wish hwy 95A from south 29 to north 29 be widen to a four lane or at a three lane road , giving a center lane for turning.
My gut tells me this is nothing more then a way for the developers to push more mass subdivisions everywhere they can.
I agree with John Conner…no need to 6 lane 29..but 97 should have been 4 lined decades ago, many lives could have been saved.
@SES
I very rarely encounter people on 97 driving under the speed limit, unless you think the speed limit is 65 or 70. I set my cruise at 60mph and still have people passing me like I’m sitting still.
Sam, there are certain right of ways laid out for the various roadways, and the feds/state/county are able to improve those roads within that ROW as traffic conditions and volumes change with growth. If someone built a building right up to the ROW, they’re going to have a road in their front yard.
We purposely built our home 400′ from the county road fronting our property in anticipation of road expansion and for privacy.
@Gerri McDonald
Hwy 97 is a state road, not county, therefore the State owns the right of way, which is 100 feet total (measured from dead center of the road, out 50 feet in each direction).
I have neighbors on this road who’s front porch is 5 feet from State right of way now. If a 4 lane is put in, I don’t know what they’ll do.
To answer your question, yes, the state can and will take whatever land they need to, to complete this, which also means moving utilities.
Ses, no one is to blame for speeding except those that speed. Everyone needs to learn responsibility and accountability.
If they were to do this, what about all the buildings and houses that sit really close to the road? What would happen to those yards of the houses or the parking lots of the buildings, as there are a few that basically sit right on the road. Or what about the roads that actually need re-doing instead of a quick patch that’ll form another deep hole in no time?
Hwy.29 should have been 6 laned years ago, all the way to Century as it’s an evacuation route. Definitely 4 lane Hwy. 97. Fine people for driving under the speed limit as it causes people to speed to make up time. Like people that drive 40mph in the 55mph zone. These are mostly rural roads.
196 was just widened and resurfaced. They must be including this again to act like they are actually doing something.
I agree with John Connor!
IF, 97 is 4 lanes, does eminent domain allow for the expansion? I know there is the county right of way, but when that is taken, does it shift into people’s yards? They would have to move all of the power poles and lines, which would then cause people to loose around 30 plus feet of their yard
164 from Hwy 29 to Pine Barren needs widening…not just resurfacing
I’d rather see Hwy 29 turned into an interstate from I-10 through Cantonment with service roads either side… that would actually improve traffic flow for the long haul. Heck most the infrastructure is already in place past Nine Mile other than adding the off ramps and a couple overpasses.
@john Connor
Hwy 97 isn’t dangerous. It’s the people on it that drive like rules don’t apply to them. Sure, you can add lanes to a road but you can’t fix people’s intelligence.
From Hwy. 29 in McDavid at Roach Road to Bratt Road needs resurfacing due to all the heavy large truck traffic building all the Solar Farms! Large pot holes all over our road!!
So Hwy 4 has fell apart from Hwy 99 to Pine Barren Rd by Northview.
Maybe giving the Countys portion of Highway 4 back to the State would be a good idea. Might could get a shared use path from Highway 97 to Baker.
It seems inevitable that 29 will go to six lanes from Nine Mile up to at least International Paper at some point in the next few years. Does it need to extend to Century? Eh…
“…. proposed projects that aim to improve mobility, safety, and connectivity across rural area of Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa counties …”
To translate, “proposed projects that aim to transform the rural areas of Escambia, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties to high density neighborhoods”. The builders/developers always get what they want.
Highway 29 doesn’t need two more lanes, it needs to be made into a limited access highway, like I-10, with access lanes either side from the FL/AL State Line to as close to 1-10 as feasible.
Does the Freedom Rd safety enhancement include fixing the bridge?
You don’t need to 6 lane 29 to Century. You just need to 6 lane it through Cantonment. As for 97 it should have been 4 lined 20 years ago as a divided hwy and not because of traffic but for safety reasons. Just imagine the number lives it could have saved.
Not sure on #8….
It has been resurfaced in the last 3 years?
29 to 6 lanes to Century, will be the PENSACOLA RACEWAY. Drivers already drives this road at 75 plus!