Latest news with #PD&E
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Santa Rosa considering adding tolls at Navarre Beach Bridge
The Santa Rosa County Commission will look at taking $1.5 million previously set aside to pay for a PD&E study at the Navarre Beach Causeway Bridge and putting it toward installing tolling devices at the span to collect funds to be to put toward maintenance and eventual construction of a new bridge. Commissioner Ray Eddington has been pressing fellow board members to start looking seriously at replacing the aging bridge. At Thursday's regular commission meeting he said establishing a toll "is the only way I can see to do it and get money coming in." Fellow commissioners agreed to discuss the idea of establishing tolls at its next meeting. A proposal will be put on the agenda for the county's Feb. 24 meeting. Commission Chairman Kerry Smith said tolling "is gonna have to fly" with a majority of the governing board. "It's the only way we're going to pay for anything, even just the cost of repairs for the bridge," he said. County Budget Director Sabrina White informed the board that $1.5 million had been set aside in the FY 2024 budget to use for a Planning, Development and Environmental study, which the Florida Department of Transportation requires be conducted for projects it funds or participates in helping to fund. But according to Assistant County Administrator Jared Lowe, it looks less and less likely FDOT is going to participate with the county to cover the cost of a new bridge. "It's not theirs and they really have no interest in chipping in," he said. The state turned the bridge over to Santa Rosa County in the early 2000's, and allocated dollars at that time to assist with maintenance, but Eddington estimated that the cost of county upkeep alone has reached $5 million. County staff had raised the idea of establishing a toll on the Navarre Beach Causeway Bridge during last year's budget meetings. Based on information obtained by looking at toll by plate systems utilized in neighboring counties, staff concluded that establishing a toll of between 50 cents and $1.50 per crossing at the bridge could raise approximately $2 million annually to be put toward bridge maintenance and construction. When commissioners rejected the idea of tolls last year, they did so prior to a referendum being held that asked county residents to implement a half-cent sales tax for use on transportation initiatives. That referendum failed at the ballot. Eddington said following Thursday's meeting he thought the 50 cent to $1.50 charge to travel the bridge was a good starting point for discussion. He said he doesn't want to overburden residents of Navarre Beach or Santa Rosa County residents. "We've got to look out for people who live here, maybe make it a little higher for people coming in from out of town," he said. "We've got to sit down and look at the numbers and see what we can do that doesn't hurt anybody." White suggested the tolling method county staff will present for commissioner consideration is what is known as a "gantry system." The system utilizes an overhead structure that collects tolls through transponders or via automatic license plate recognition. Lowe said cost estimates for implementing the tolling system will be gathered prior to the Feb. 24 meeting. In an email, White said commissioners will be presented with an estimated cost of hiring an engineer to design a gantry toll by plate system and develop a chart of potential tiered rates. The tiered rates would be calculated to charge differing rates for beach residents, county residents and out-of-county individuals. More: Navarre Beach Bridge converting to one-way traffic after Blue Angels show Saturday The Navarre Beach Causeway Bridge was built as a toll bridge, but tolls were eliminated in 2006 through the efforts of then-County Commissioner Gordon Gooden and then-State Rep. Ray Sansom. Samson said when he introduced legislation seeking to end the toll, the bridge had been paid off and the money being collected was primarily going toward paying the people collecting the tolls. "I was excited to see that toll removed," Sansom said. "But that was a long time ago and so many things have changed." The two-lane Navarre Beach Causeway Bridge was built in 1960 and is listed by the Florida Department of Transportation as "functionally obsolete," which is a term given to roads that "do not meet the state's current roadway design standards." In 2021 the county directed staff to begin drafting a request for proposals for companies who could perform a feasibility study to look at options for replacing the bridge. The report generated through the study, released in 2023, identified three options to be considered for bridge replacement. All options took into consideration FDOT's plans to widen U.S. 98 to six lanes through Navarre and an overpass at the current Navarre Beach Bridge intersection. Alternative one pinpointed in the feasibility study would take out the existing bridge and replace it within the same footprint with a single structure that rises to 65 feet above the Santa Rosa Sound to meet Coast Guard standards. The second alternative would extend the bridge from State Road 87 and U.S. 98 across the sound and land it on county property adjacent to the Navarre Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. The third would also incorporate State Road 87 and U.S. 98 into planning and would "cross Santa Rosa Sound in an S-curve pattern" to connect with the existing southernmost landing of the bridge. The county was approached last year by a Delaware company called Delivering Bridges LLC, which offered to tear down and rebuild the bridge for between $150 and $200 million. Under the plan Delivering Bridges would, upon completion, manage the new bridge's maintenance and toll functions through either an ownership option or lease agreement The company envisioned toll charges of between $2.35 and $3.35. A second alternative presented by Delivering Bridges would have seen the bridge constructed at a location other than where the existing one stands now at a cost of $250 to $300 million. Tolls on the more expensive alternative were estimated to have run between $4.25 and $5.20. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Navarre Beach Bridge tolls considered by Santa Rosa Commissioners
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Seminole kicks in $500K to advance SunRail toward OIA, Universal
Seminole County this week took its first financial step toward supporting a yearslong plan to connect SunRail passengers to the massive Orlando International Airport and theme park district in neighboring Orange County. On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously agreed to pitch in $500,000 for a $6 million study that would delve into feasibility of the proposed Sunshine Corridor, a rail system that would allow SunRail passengers to travel from airport gates to theme parks without using the area's roads. 'I fully support this,' said Seminole Commissioner Bob Dallari, longtime advocate of the Sunshine Corridor. 'I think it's not only important but imperative that we do this.' When SunRail trains first rolled down the tracks more than a decade ago, supporters said the ultimate goal was connecting the train line — which runs 61 miles north and south through Volusia, Seminole, Orange and Osceola counties — eastward to the airport, which handles more than 60 million passengers a year. At an estimated cost of $4.4 billion, the Sunshine Corridor also would extend westward to Universal Studios, the Orange County Convention Center and Disney Springs. On the Sunshine Corridor, SunRail trains would share about 12 miles of tracks with Brightline — the high-speed train which travels between Miami and the airport. Proponents say that more than 100,000 residents work in the area around the airport and theme parks near the corridor — and the project would help relieve traffic congestion in the fast-growing region. While local residents wanting to fly out of the airport would not have to search for increasingly-scarce parking spaces. What's the real cost of Florida's special legislative sessions? | Commentary 'The extension of rail to the airport and the attractions is a game changer for employers, employees, tourists and people who live here. It's a huge quality-of-life improvement in Central Florida,' said Seminole Commissioner Amy Lockhart, chair of the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission Board which oversees SunRail. In 2024, SunRail had 1.2 million riders, a 12% jump from the previous year, the Florida Department of Transportation announced Wednesday. State officials credited the recent opening of the DeLand station, a new mobile ticketing app and improved ticketing system. But the first step for the Sunshine Corridor: the region must conduct a project, development and environmental study commonly known as a PD&E — before the federal government and the state of Florida agree on providing any funding for the project. Such a study would dive into projected ridership, the system's maintenance, operational costs, environmental impacts, station locations and track alignments. It could take about two years to complete. The Florida Department of Transportation — which would oversee the PD&E study — agreed last year to pay $2 million as long as governments and other private entities along the route kick in the remaining $4 million. Orlando then said it was pitching in $500,000 last fall — before Seminole agreed to the same this week. Orange County leaders have expressed support for the Sunshine Corridor and plan to vote on a contribution at a future commission meeting, according to a spokesperson. Volusia and Osceola, whose leaders have said they back the Sunshine Corridor, have yet to commit any money. In 2022, Universal donated 13 acres of land for a SunRail station at the convention center along the proposed Sunshine Corridor route. The theme park giant also partnered with the I-Drive Resort Area Chamber of Commerce. A year later, Orange County and the chamber approved a special taxing district for the donated Universal land to help generate funds for Sunshine Corridor. Lockhart said entities along the route contributing to the study will show the federal government the region 'has some skin in the game' and is serious about the project. 'I think Seminole County needs to step up so that we are part of the contributed column and maybe through positive peer pressure will move others,' Lockhart said in urging fellow commissioners to approve funding. 'But it's up to each individual entity to decide how much and if to contribute.'
