Bridge Addition for US HWY 331

[beachmouse]

- Final decision was delayed at least a week
- a referendum will cost about $40,000 to conduct.
-

Task force will meet at 1:30 p.m. next Thursday at the Walton County Courthouse.

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]My guess is that it will end up being a toll since we already have among the highest sales tax in the state, tax is a dirty word, and a toll would be a use fee which puts the burden directly on the user instead of business. Tolls are a shame, and they always seem to end up going longer than needed. Too bad we are being pressured by time on this.
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Some have suggested that locals should be toll exempt with a special pass. I suppose this would be unfair to visitors, and not sure if it would be allowed anyhow. I'm not sure how "sun passes" and the like work, but if we get a "SoWal Pass" , how much should it cost residents?
$9.99/year
$50/year
$100/year
$200/year
More?
​

There's an annual pass option for the Pensacola Beach toll bridge:

http://sria-fla.com/toll-pass-information.php

 

[Bob Wells]

This was going to be electronic tolling, no onsite employees as it was explained.

 

[Diamond Dave]

Hey everyone, here's a novel idea... Instead of letting the county spend $3,877,548.26 (yes million) dollars on various attorney from 2006 to current fiscal year, the BCC could fund the bridge.

The list of attorney's is too large to list, but yes, rest assured, it has the usual suspects...

Reference: County Department Submission Form, Board of County Commissioners

There is a great sentence in the Summary Explanation or History section: "For the record it is difficult to track Legal expenses as litigation can drive the expenditures significantly"

Really...

Second time I have tried to post this tonight.

 

[jack S]

I would take tax over toll, but there is a third option. Do we need a new bridge? I don't think so. We only need a new bridge for the development that has not happened yet. Why should we finance the ruin of our neighborhoods. If sandestin needs a bridge to their casino, let them pay for it. If new development puts a strain on resources, let them pay for it. Look around the country. Everywhere there was something nice, it was better when it was smaller! Why be in a hurry to help the greedy accomplish their goal of more for them, at our expense.

 

[Lake View Too]

This is not a bad idea. I've always thought that with a little bit of improvement such as landscaping, palm trees, picnic tables, perhaps another boat launch, the causeway could become almost a scenic destination entry into South Walton. It could be just the right thing to have a "traffic calming corridor". But, I've been known to have Utopian ideas before...

 

[Misty]

What really needs to happen is the BCC needs to tell the DOT to take their money and stick it where the sun never shines.

 

[Beach Runner]

This was going to be electronic tolling, no onsite employees as it was explained.

Will there be cruise cards like on GA 400 in Atlanta? What about vacationers who don't have cruise cards? I assume they'll have to stop to use credit cards or cash at unattended toll booths.

What I hate about the GA 400 toll booths is how it slows down and backs up the traffic, even for those in the cruise card lanes. I can just imagine how backed up US 331 will be during the summer vacation season if there is a toll.

I am a taxpayer in Walton County, and I'd rather pay 1/2% tax than deal with traffic backup-causing tolls on 331. Actually I'd prefer neither. ;-)

 

[beachmouse]

The state in general is moving toward pay-by-plate if you don't have a transponder. Some toll roads have already eliminated old style toll booths altogether.

http://www.floridasturnpike.com/all-electronictolling/

 

[Beach Runner]

The state in general is moving toward pay-by-plate if you don't have a transponder. Some toll roads have already eliminated old style toll booths altogether.

http://www.floridasturnpike.com/all-electronictolling/

Wow, that's cool. I wish Atlanta would do that on 400.

 

[Jim Tucker]

I would be surprised if the current causeway is allowed to remain. It gets flooded during storms and it's always been said that DEP would require it's removal. Maybe the DEP has no teeth any longer.

We can make both lanes on the new bridge north bound but they already do that on the causeway and it gets backed up during evacuation.

Don't be surprised if after the toll is approved and plans are underway that we are told we need to fund causeway removal and a second north bound bridge with a second toll.