State Road 293 - Mid-Bay Bridge / Mid-Bay Bridge Connector
This sign advertised a Spring 2014 opening date of the Mid-bay Connector at the now trumpet interchange between SR 85 and SR 293. Long range planning calls for the Niceville bypass to continue southwesterly as part of a toll road to SR 87 near Holley. - 01/25/2013
Florida State Road 293 crosses Choctawhatchee Bay along the 3.6 mile Mid-Bay Bridge between Niceville and Destin in southern Okaloosa County. The state route was designated on the bridge and its connector roadways north to SR 20 and south to U.S. 98 when the $86 million span opened in June 1993. The toll bridge is operated by the Mid-Bay Bridge Authority, which was created by state Legislature in 1986. Work on the bridge commenced in 1992.1
Florida State Road 293 Guides
Tolls were initially set at $2.00 per passenger vehicle in 1993. Those increased to $2.50 per passenger car in 2004 and $3.00 in 2010. As of 2013, the Bridge Authority still had $260 million in bonds to pay off.1 Revenues from tolls collected are also paying for the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector, a limited-access expressway bypassing Niceville between SR 85 and the bridge. The first segment of that roadway opened in May 12, 2011, realigning the route away from White Point Road to a single point urban interchange (SPUI) with SR 20. A short extension followed by September 16, 2011 to a diamond interchange with Range Road on the Eglin Air Force Base border.
Work to complete the roadway northwest to SR 85, including an interchange at SR 285 and a toll collection point north of Range Road, was expected in early 2014.1 Completion projects moved faster than anticipated expediting the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector opening to January 4, 2014. A ribbon-cutting ceremony and 5K run preceded the opening.2
Construction of the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector broke ground in 2009. The $140 million project extended the limited access routing of SR 293 to 16 miles. Tolls on the Niceville bypass portion range from $1.00 per passenger vehicles with a SunPass account and $1.50 for cash transactions.3
Mid-Bay Connector Construction
Lakeshore Drive eastbound at the northbound ramp for the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector. All standard Florida shields for SR 293 were replaced with Toll markers when the Mid-Bay Connector was completed west to SR 85.
09/16/11
05/22/14
A standard SR 293 shield assembly directed motorists onto the Mid-Bay Bridge south from Lakeshore Drive east.
05/13/11
Range Road was the end point of SR 293 north until January 2014.
09/16/11
All traffic departed for Range Road just east of Niceville as SR 293 ended.
09/16/11
Range Road leaves a residential area of Niceville to meet the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector at the boundary of Elgin Air Force Base.
09/16/11
SR 293 was extended by about a half mile from SR 20 to Range Road by September of 2011.
09/16/11
Range Road enters Eglin A.F.B. property immediately east of SR 293. The road is restricted at this point.
09/16/11
Exiting the grounds of Eglin A.F.B., Range Road meets SR 293 at a diamond interchange.
09/16/11
SR 293 curves southwestward from the Range Road off-ramp to SR 20, Lakeshore Drive and the Mid-Bay Bridge to Destin.
09/16/11
Earthwork at the turn of Forest Road north onto College Boulevard west. An at-grade intersection now joins the north end of Forest Road with the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector.
09/16/11
White Point Road - North
A set of flashers operated at the intersection of White Point Road and Woodlands Drive. Woodlands Drive connects the former state road with Bluewater Bay to the west.
05/13/11
North of Woodlands Boulevard, White Point Road meets SR 20.
05/13/11
Trailblazers directed motorists onto SR 20 west for I-10 west via Crestview and SR 20 east to I-10 east via DeFuniak Springs.
05/13/11
SR 20 constitutes a busy arterial from the Mid-Bay Bridge Connector westward to SR 85 in central Niceville. Numerous traffic lights line this stretch, which is why the Connector was constructed for through travelers.
05/13/11
White Point Road - South
A toll schedule sign was posted for the Mid-Bay Bridge just south of the Whit Point Road beginning from SR 20. The toll rate was still $2.50 per passenger vehicle.
02/13/10
Whitepoint Road carried just two lanes south from SR 20 to the Mid-Bay Bridge. This view looks at the flasher at Woodlands Drive, which added local traffic to the former state road.
02/13/10
A toll plaza sign advised motorists along White Point Road south just after Woodlands Drive.
02/13/10
Olde Post road was the second to last turn-off available along White Point Road before SR 293 defaulted into the toll plaza.
02/13/10
Beyond the access road for Maxwell-Gunter Recreation Area, White Point Road curved toward the toll plaza. The road now ends at a cul-de-sac.
02/13/10
The former connection of White Point Road to the Mid-Bay Bridge. A sign notified motorists that passing is not allowed on the two lane span.
02/13/10
References:
- "Mid-Bay Bridge a vital transportation link despite controversies." Northwest Florida Daily News, June 25, 2013.
- "Mid-Bay Bridge Connector to open in coming months." Northwest Florida Daily News, September 19, 2013.
- "Mid-Bay Bridge Connector to be unveiled after four years of work." Northwest Florida Daily News, January 3, 2014.
Photo Credits:
- ABRoads: 02/13/10, 05/13/11, 09/16/11, 05/22/14
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Page Updated Friday November 14, 2014.