Will taxpayers own future Eglin toll bypass

Will taxpayers ‘own’ future Eglin toll bypass?

By Deborah Nelson
September 21, 2007

A toll bypass that would run along Eglin AFB’s southern boundary, between Hwy. 87 and U.S. 331 in Walton County, could clear a major hurdle by the end of October. But officials say it's too early to say whether taxpayers or private industry will reap eventual profits.

Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor Authority officials updated the project status at Pensacola City Hall, September 20.

Project engineers are still working on an exact route, but the 57-mile limited access corridor would feature eleven intersections: Hwy. 87, Hwy. 98, MLK Jr. Blvd. and Hurlburt Field, SR 189 & Eglin AF West Gate, SR 85 & Eglin North Gate, SR 85, SR 285, the Mid-Bay Bridge, two SR 20 connectors, and SR 331 (click front page graphic).

Those interchanges will help optimize tollway ridership, notes Hwy. 98 Authority Chair Randall McElheney.

McElheney says the roadway could ideally open for traffic inside of ten years, but the timetable depends on how long planning takes. Engineers could begin that process by the end of October.

Photo: NWFTCA

Eglin issued a preliminary conceptual approval of the roadway in February, with a list of 17 stipulations. Those included an ‘absolute and non-negotiable’ ability of the Air Force to close the road whenever necessary.

Hwy. 98 Authority contractor HDR Engineering based updated route possibilities (see graphic, left) on allowable corridor areas provided by the Air Force. The firm meets again with Eglin officials, October 4.

HDR spokesman Ray Reissener says he expects Air Force conceptual approval by October 31. In the meantime, the Authority meets with the Nature Conservancy, to discuss environmental issues, October 1.

Air Force approval would allow the Authority to begin a first-stage project study -- to evaluate routes and funding sources.

The roadway is expected to be tolled.

“There’s a need for some toll roads in Northwest Florida,” McElheney remarked. “That’s a funding mechanism that we haven’t tapped.”

Less certain is whether taxpayers or big business will collect revenues.

‘Public/private’ partnerships typically entail selling off public infrastructure to private industry. But the Hwy. 98 Authority is not allowed to sell or convert existing roads to tollways, at this point.

The Authority can issue publicly-backed bond debt to pay for new ‘limited access’ toll routes. It can also seize private land for the project, through eminent domain proceedings.

‘Public/private’ infrastructure deals have garnered criticism in Indiana, Chicago, Pennsylvania and other regions; especially when foreign corporations end up collecting public roads and services profits.

Nevertheless, as the economy – and stock market – continue to tank, financiers are increasingly looking to infrastructure as a low-risk way to make money.

Toll roads and other public infrastructure offer Wall Street and global high-rollers a secure, high-profit investment potential; complete with captive customer base and public-bailout safety net; according to a January Mother Jones report.

The article, titled “The Highwaymen: Why you could soon be paying Wall Street investors, Australian bankers, and Spanish builders for the privilege of driving on American roads,” is available at: Mother Jones

If the roadway stays in public hands, toll dollars would accrue to taxpayers.

McElheney says he believes private ownership would offer a more predictable source of funding.

Santa Rosa Commissioner John Broxson questioned the Authority’s project priorities.

Broxson reminded Authority members of their Statutory tasking to relieve Hwy. 98 congestion.

“That is your primary mission.” he pointed out. “We’re looking at these bypasses, and that’s great…but I hope we don’t lose sight of that.”

“It’s not going to be solved in my opinion by your just buying the Garcon Point Bridge,” Broxson went on to say.

He asked the Authority to renew their focus on the area west of Navarre. Regional transportation planning authorities, with a majority Escambia vote, recently voted to drop $65 million in funding for a Hwy. 98 widening project in Gulf Breeze.

“I hope you will renew your efforts once again to look at the west end of 98,” said Broxson, “because we really do need your help.”

McElheney says those areas are still a consideration.

“We’re very focused on that,” he told Broxson.

The Authority’s hoping a new bypass will divert through traffic off of 98, he noted.

The Authority’s financially constrained because it may not toll existing roadways, says McElheney. But extra funding coming from new tollways, he told Broxson, could be used to improve existing roads.

“We will continue to advocate on your behalf, and seek all available funding,” he remarked.

What about hurricane evacuation?

The Authority Master Plan, released in April, does not include a new north/south Santa Rosa evacuation route.

Hwy. 87 is currently being upgraded with state and federal funds, but the section between NAS Whiting Field and the Alabama line is not scheduled for expansion.

McElheney says the Authority updates the Master Plan every year, and the project could come under reconsideration.

“That to me is a very valid option,” he notes.

In the meantime, Authority officials say they’re working with government to expedite existing state projects, including Avalon Blvd. But getting Hwy. 98 listed on the state’s more reliably-funded Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) list, presents problems for toll-oriented roadways, say project officials.

SIS level of service requirements limit factors like allowable congestion and the number of medians. Officials say those requirements are too restrictive to use on tollway projects.

Pace Beltway – still a ‘concept’

A separate new toll Beltway between Berryhill and Willard Norris Roads is still in the ‘concept’ stage, according to Authority officials, and could eventually originate in Alabama.

“We can’t tell you exactly where it will go,” McElheney notes.

No specifics will be available until after the group studies where the road should run, and how it should be paid for. That study is expected to commence in the next five years, says Reissener.

The Authority’s Master Plan also shows a Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement spanning Pensacola Airport and the Garcon Point peninsula. Another bridge is necessary, say Authority officials, because the existing span can’t add new lanes.

That would place the bridge near the I-10 span, and funnel southbound traffic towards the Garcon Point Bridge.

Officials say the Master Plan location is subject to change, depending on where future studies show the best location would be.

Editor's Note: The NWFTC Authority is tasked with improving Hwy. 98 mobility, alleviating congestion, finding future evacuation routes…and promoting economic development.

It’s composed of eight members, one from each Gulf county, appointed by former Governor Jeb Bush. Santa Rosa’s representative, Robert Montgomery, is a local realtor.

The group’s purview extends beyond Hwy. 98 itself: it has the power to improve existing roads and construct new feeder and connector roads, bypasses, bridges and other facilities that may improve corridor traffic.

It cannot directly obligate tax dollars, but may use Federal, state and local financial assistance; and sell bonds.

The Authority also has the power to take private property through eminent domain…including property that may be used to build private-profit toll roads.

No improvements to existing roads may be tolled, but new roads and bridges can be constructed as for-profit tollways.