The stakes are indeed high for the 331 bridge. It is not just a matter of all the eggs in the half-cent sales tax. A no vote will beam the message that the bridge is not a local priority. The FDOT Secretary informed commissioners that the $102 million currently allocated for the bridge project will be re-allocated at the state level if no match is forthcoming.
Communities which demonstrate determination to address their local needs by developing and working a plan to conclusion are viewed favorably while communities which do not stay the course with plans wait in line years, if ever, to get projects funded. To their credit, until now, Walton County officials have demonstrated unwavering commitment scratching around for funds to widen 331 including cajoling property owners to donate land to mitigate right of way costs. The first four-lane phase is complete and all other phases are in process of implementation and/or planning.
This new tact — pitting priorities between widening the road and the bridge — could derail the 331 corridor project. Four lanes pouring into a two-lane bridge during high volume, tourist season or hurricane evacuation, negates the value of the entire project. If local officials don’t get that both elements are equally necessary, FDOT does, which is why the unexpected allocation came to the 331 bridge project rather than to another county.
Currently, widening 331 is in the works while the bridge is on a wish list. The $102 million allocation with a match will marry the two on an action list, likely to be completed about the same time in transportation planning years because nothing happens overnight in that world.
What has happened, apparently without officials understanding, is this: Walton County has scored a Lotto win in the transportation planning world. The avenue to go to the head of the funding line is a rare opportunity that shouldn’t be squandered by officials going off the plan grid or voters rejecting the half-cent sales tax. Here’s some reality: at the current cost of road construction, $13 million per mile, the $102 million would fund less than eight miles! Or, it can fund 57 percent of the bridge.
Or, Walton County officials can continue to broadcast the bridge is not a priority while citizens and FDOT listen in, each deciding to go their own way.
Unlike major road projects, which are constructed in phases due to a gut wrenching cost per mile, bridge building is an all or nothing proposition. As fewer dollars are available for big ticket projects due to congressional and legislative decisions, improved vehicular gas mileage and fewer miles driven, the trend nationwide is private/public partnerships with alternate funding sources paired with gas taxes (the primary source of transportation funds). Walton County being offered the opportunity to facilitate timely progress by contributing to the 331 project follows the trend.
In the transportation planning world, a short range planning instrument is a 5-year plan. Getting a transportation project to the shovel-ready stage is a tedious, lengthy process during which every project undergoes annual priority assessment against other projects before moving into a position that includes actual or projected funding. A project can be in a five-year plan for years awaiting funding.
Seizing the moment would be both forward thinking and intelligent.
Keep in mind, visitors will contribute a good portion toward the match as most stays entail short-term rentals, dining out, entertainment, buying beachwear/toys — all taxable items while residential shelter, food and medicine are not. Walton County has so much going on that enhances both resident and visitor experiences; both populations can only grow in coming years. Having supportive, top-notch infrastructure is key to economic development. Success begets success and that bridge to success is in your hands Walton County. Don’t let it get away. A no vote is a no win.
Charlene Greenwald is a Fort Walton Beach resident. She has more than ten years experience as a Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Citizen's Advisory Committee (CAC) member but says she wrote this piece “as a concerned citizen not as a CAC representative.”
