Hwy 331 need to be four-laned NOW

Dear Lord, please let 331 be four-laned soon. Even if we have to merge down to one lane to cross the bridge. Please!

Obviously, one day it will be. But I hope it is in my lifetime.

Went to DFS from South Walton and back tonite. I should preface this by stating that I no longer pass. In the daytime, I can?t distinguish between a shadow and another vehicle, and at night I often can?t tell what section of the road I am on. So, if I get behind someone, I?m stuck.

Going up, I fall in behind a tractor-trailer in Freeport. One of those real shiny ones. My headlights on his rear are like lights in a mirror. No way could I get around him if I wanted to. By the time we hit the four-lane in DeFuniak and I hit the left lane, I feel as if I need to peel my eyelids away from my eyeballs. I see spots for the next 15 minutes.

Going home, I leave Whataburger and there is no traffic. Blissfully enjoying the ride, only slightly above the speed limit. I come up behind a vehicle just before the COPE center. I suddenly realize that I am travelling twice as fast as the car in front of me. After braking hard enough to make my son take the Ipod buds out of his ear and look hard at me, I regain my composure and thank my heavenly Father that this vehicle is only going to Alaqua. However, I am stunned to see the vehicle ahead drive past Coy Burgess Road. Doesn?t slow down, doesn?t speed up. 35 miles per hour.

The hospital. Yeah, that?s the ticket. Surely this person is headed to the hospital to kiss a loved one goodnight. In anticipation of the vehicle getting into the left turn lane, I speed up. Car does not turn left, and again I nearly run over him.

Woodlawn? No such luck. Rock Hill? The only place I feel confident enough to pass on all of 331 and there is a parade heading north. The only promising news is that we have become brave enough to speed up to 45 mph. And every time I glance away and look back, I nearly run over him.

I wearily crawl into Freeport behind the rolling roadblock. The light at Hwy 20 is red. I activate my left turn signal. My forerunner does not. I begin to count my blessings that he lives in Freeport and plans to go straight. As the light turns green, he puts his left blinker on and putts thru a left turn onto 20. Wesley looks at me and starts laughing.

Dare I hope that the person ahead of me lives out 20 east? Nope. Right-turn lane. I utter profane comments.

Then, thankfully, in a show of mercy, the car ahead of me makes a right turn into BankTrust. I am so accustomed to riding my brake behind him by now that I almost follow him. I do need to go to the ATM, but I decide that I would rather pay a service fee somewhere else than run the risk of being behind Speedy Gonzales again.

Dear Lord, please let 331 be four-laned soon. Even if we have to merge down to one lane to cross the bridge. Please!

Come on down to O-town. We've got all that frustrating traffic X 1000 plus violence! I try to always put in a 10 to 20 minute cushion on all traveling around this urban hell-hole, excuse me, desireable tourist destination. 331 and 98 are very dangerous roads!