Escambia County to replace Pensacola Beach's Toll Plaza with archway
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, Fla. (WKRG) — Upgrades to Pensacola Beach's Toll Plaza are in the works as Escambia County prepares to install a new archway to replace the current toll booths.
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The goal is to improve traffic flow while also giving a warm welcome to visitors traveling to Pensacola Beach.
Pensacola Beach's current toll plaza is set to be replaced this fall. (News 5 photo)
'I really wanted something that made traffic flow a lot easier, and that was big and beautiful,' Escambia County District 4 Commissioner Ashlee Hofberger said.
With plans to have the design phase finished in August, construction will begin this fall and is set to be completed by April 2026. Despite the stylistic changes, toll fare and payment will remain the same with the new archway.
'The county is at a place where we can reinvest into the beach,' Hofberger added. 'It is our economic driver, and so for me, one of the biggest priorities was making sure that as you're coming onto the beach, that you have something pretty and beautiful and welcoming and something that says, 'We're proud to be Pensacola Beach residents and call this our home.''
The gateway design will also help hide all of the electronics for the automated tolling system.
'If you don't put a facade over it that is somewhat artistic, then it looks like a Connect Set, because it's just the metal poles that are stuck together with the tag readers in them,' Hofberger said.
The project should cost anywhere from $6.3 million to $7.5 million including roadway, landscape and lighting improvements. Funding for the project will come from more than three sources.
'We have TDT dollars, so tourist development dollars, and those were able to be funded because it is something that goes towards marketing our community,' Hofberger said. 'Some of it is coming from my discretionary funding, and then some of it also coming from the previous toll money.'
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Hofberger believes tourists visiting Pensacola Beach will appreciate the clean look of the archway, letting them know they've arrived at their vacation.
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