I-10 to Florida Panhandle Coast Toll Road Proposed

[ElishaGOtis]

I think connecting Panama City FL with Tallahassee those the rest of the state is a great idea. Currently when coming from Tallahassee on I 10 I take exit 174 SR 12 to Bristol. Then SR 20 to US 231. These two lanes roads get obnoxious as they don't really have passing lanes. I would like to see the toll road built over this route. I would like the road to fork once it gets into Bay County. The left fork can connect to Panama City and Tyndall AFB. The right fork can go west by Northwest Florida Airport and connect to Panama City Beach and  30A.

I agree. When Pensacola's I-110 was constructed in the 1960s, Escambia County had a very similar population to that of the Panama City Metro Area today. Moreover, the county's population density at the time was far lower than today's PC Metro Area by comparison. Pensacola also had two ports and a major rail depot in addition to I-10 and I-110.

Today, despite the similarities, Panama City has neither a expressway nor any other major intercity connectors that other similarly-sized cities have, outside of one port and one rail line. The port, Tyndall AFB, NSA Panama City, and the countless new developments in the area all warrant some major connector beyond a simple 4-lane roadway. I think any expressway to that area would not only benefit Panama City, but also the so-called "Forgotten Coast," which has had some major economic struggles after several hurricanes and closures of industry.

As far as a connection to the SunCoast Parkway, I simply cannot see this happening from Panama City. There is a National Forest in the way, and the distance would make it not practical. Maybe something connecting from Tallahassee, in the long term future, might make sense.

If the length of US 27 and US 19 from Tallahassee to Tampa were a congested corridor, I could see this making sense. But it simply is not. Even long term I don't see there being enough growth in the Panhandle or along this corridor to justify this kind of project anywhere north of Citrus County.

Agreed that I would like to see a better connection from Tallahassee to Panama City, having made this drive multiple times. But I think this kind of money would be far better spent four-laning or at least adding passing lanes to a lot of those two-lane roads. Especially SR 20, but also US 98/319, SR 22, and SR 71 could see some benefit.

It would come as no surprise if portions of the new toll road would be originally built with two lanes to save cost, much like that of Spence and Polk Parkways. The overall growth may not warrant the corridor as of now, but I believe that in the not-to-distant-future it may be extremely useful. The area is growing exponentially. If you look at a map near the junction of FL-79 and US-98, pretty much every acre of land between US-98 and the Canal, except for Conservation Park, is slated to be low-to-medium density development. Windmark is another major development growing near Port Saint Joe (this resulted in a realignment of US-98 a while ago). Personally, I'm excited for the rapid growth of the area, but that must come with infrastructure improvements that keep up with the growth...

My new concern, however, involves urban sprawl. Will this new corridor accelerate such risks? If so, how would it affect other nearby infrastructure?

[edwaleni]

I think connecting Panama City FL with Tallahassee those the rest of the state is a great idea. Currently when coming from Tallahassee on I 10 I take exit 174 SR 12 to Bristol. Then SR 20 to US 231. These two lanes roads get obnoxious as they don't really have passing lanes. I would like to see the toll road built over this route. I would like the road to fork once it gets into Bay County. The left fork can connect to Panama City and Tyndall AFB. The right fork can go west by Northwest Florida Airport and connect to Panama City Beach and  30A.

Not sure if it would impact anything, but Tyndall AFB is going to get demoted by USAF. Due to the hurricane damage, it appears DoD doesn't want to reinvest in it and move most of the training to another base.

In the last defense spending bill the money was being ping-ponged in and out. I think the final conclusion was that some things would be fixed, but most of it would be transferred out.

[ElishaGOtis]

I think connecting Panama City FL with Tallahassee those the rest of the state is a great idea. Currently when coming from Tallahassee on I 10 I take exit 174 SR 12 to Bristol. Then SR 20 to US 231. These two lanes roads get obnoxious as they don't really have passing lanes. I would like to see the toll road built over this route. I would like the road to fork once it gets into Bay County. The left fork can connect to Panama City and Tyndall AFB. The right fork can go west by Northwest Florida Airport and connect to Panama City Beach and  30A.

Not sure if it would impact anything, but Tyndall AFB is going to get demoted by USAF. Due to the hurricane damage, it appears DoD doesn't want to reinvest in it and move most of the training to another base.

In the last defense spending bill the money was being ping-ponged in and out. I think the final conclusion was that some things would be fixed, but most of it would be transferred out.

Interesting that it's being demoted... when I was there a few weeks ago, I saw a ton of construction for new buildings and roadways. About four or five prefab buildings, 4 to 5 floors each, were just assembled. The new interchange on US-98 at Airey Ave is making good progress, and will even have a concrete surface (unlike a lot of other roadways in this area).

I'm wondering if the training squadrons are being removed for the purpose of making way for a new division. I read online about the "installation of the future." If that's the case, even more reason to have the new Expressway.