PCB not so stupid now...

Just curious as to how much you hear about the new highways which are planned to be constructed all over NW FL? I hear nothing on the news, but they are under way, with many already under construction. Any idea why they would want a second limited access road to run parallel to Hwy 20, from Niceville to the new airport in PCB?

I know a guy that sits on the corridor authority and I do not recall him ever saying anything about roads being under construction. I even think that their budget has been severely reduced by CC last year. What roads do you know that they are currently building for this project?

four-laning of hwys 79 and 77, widening of hwy 331 and the Freeport bypass (straightening of hwy 331) are three of the projects which are under way. I believe I recall hearing that they have also begun the moving of 30A in Gulf County.

four-laning of hwys 79 and 77, widening of hwy 331 and the Freeport bypass (straightening of hwy 331) are three of the projects which are under way. I believe I recall hearing that they have also begun the moving of 30A in Gulf County.

The 331 stuff was in progress way before the transportation authority was put together. I thought 79 and 77 were being four laned for north-south evacuation. Do not know a thing about Gulf County. Learn something new every day.

The land for 331 was just recently required in SoWal, and parts of NoWal. I'm not certain when the NWFTCA was formed, but they include 331, 79 and 77 in their plans. You can view maps of the planned roads and the estimated costs and list of priorities at nwftca.com

Oh, by the way, at the next Board meeting for the NWFTCA, being held in SoWal at the Courthouse Annex Jan 17, at 10am, they will be discussing the Master Plan revisions for 2008.

The land for 331 was just recently required in SoWal, and parts of NoWal. I'm not certain when the NWFTCA was formed, but they include 331, 79 and 77 in their plans. You can view maps of the planned roads and the estimated costs and list of priorities at nwftca.com

The NWFTCA was created by the 2005 legislature. I think their first meeting was late 2005 or early 2006 by the time all the appointments were made.

Regardless, they have adopted the Hwy 331, 79, and 77 projects as their own. Part of their mission is creating evacuation routes. The Master Plan is still only a plan. They have also recently added alternative plans like 6-laning most of Hwy 98. Either way, one of the intentions of the plans is to create easy access to the new PCB Airport.

Also to create much easier access to the Pensacola Airport.

Yes, and also the Tallahassee Airport.

I recall hearing that they have also begun the moving of 30A in Gulf County.

I was under the impression that the Gulf County 30-A relo was a private job by St. Joe. Basically gets the riff-raff out of Windmark. It's ruined what used to be a beautiful, scenic drive.

one of the intentions of the plans is to create easy access to the new PCB Airport.

Also to create much easier access to the Pensacola Airport.

Yes, and also the Tallahassee Airport.

All good things, since we're losing VPS;-)

ChrisV, you may be right about 30A in Gulf County. I was thinking it was part of the NWFTCA, but it may not be.

The original NWFTCA master plan 'wish list' covers improvements to the entry of Okaloosa Regional Airport, and what sounds like a realignment for the terminus of SR 123 to the main entrance of the airport.

But if they did close VPS for some reason, we'd be flying out of Pensacola. It's closer than either the old or new PCB airport, and they'll give you free one quart bags for your TSA-enforced carry on needs.

So are Sowalgaboi and ChrisV, both people who received the email from the PCB Chamber of Commerce, Realtors? Or, are you suggesting that the PCB Chamber is a Realtor Organization?

Here's a Realtor that posted it on their blog. (Note the use of the Bay County Association of Realtors? logo.)
http://activerain.com/blogsview/335164/Airport-Update

Note in the comments that they say they got the information "from the Attorneys handling the case...William Harrison from Harrison, Rivard & Bennett"

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"Oh what a tangled web we weave....." :roll:



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I see that it is posted on the Realtors' personal website, but it is coming from the Chamber of Commerce, according to the two people on SoWal.com/bb who reported receiving the email. Many Realtors post information from their local Chamber or County, on their website. So, I am not sure that I understand your post of pointing out that someone posted it on their website. I'm not sure which "case" the attorneys whom supposedly passed out the information, are handling. That is a vague response to the question in their comment.

I see that it is posted on the Realtors' personal website, but it is coming from the Chamber of Commerce, according to the two people on SoWal.com/bb who reported receiving the email. Many Realtors post information from their local Chamber or County, on their website. So, I am not sure that I understand your post of pointing out that someone posted it on their website. I'm not sure which "case" the attorneys whom supposedly passed out the information, are handling. That is a vague response to the question in their comment.

And here it is again on the blog from the "Managing Broker for the PCB west end office of Coldwell Banker" http://realtorreviewer.blogspot.com/2008/01/tests-in-leadership.html

Tell me, do Realtors actually believe the stuff they print on their blogs?


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If the statement is coming directly from the Chamber of Commerce, should it be considered lies or rumor?

If the statement is coming directly from the Chamber of Commerce, should it be considered lies or rumor?

I'm floored that no one would even question this. Closing of VPS in 2 years is HUGE!

It must be something that they put in the kool-aid during their monthly Chamber of Commerce meetings.

PCB CHAMBER OF COMMERCE MEETING PHOTO

:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:
:shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock::shock:

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As I said earlier, I was informed that the closing of VPS would not be until after the new road from Niceville to Freeport was completed, so I do question the date of closure being 2010. The PCB airport, if there are no more hold ups with the construction, will be opening in 2010, but with delays, it may take longer, so I really question 2010. Maybe that is when the lease is over, but maybe they will extend it.

As I said earlier, I was informed that the closing of VPS would not be until after the new road from Niceville to Freeport was completed,

Why are they only letting Realtors know this stuff?


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From what I can tell, the PCB Chamber sent the email to everyone on their list, not just to Realtors. My source doesn't speak only to Realtors regarding the happs. Whether or not VPS closes should have no effect on real estate in PCB, so I don't know why that would be important for those guys. It will also not have any effect on the PCB new airport being built, so really, it shouldn't matter to anyone Realtors other than those working in the VPS area.

I'll see if I can get any info out of another contact, high on a list, and see if he knows anything about VPS, on Monday.

Why are they only letting Realtors know this stuff?
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I am not a realtor, although I do hold a FL real estate sales associate license, and was once a member of ECAR.

I am not vouching for the accuracy of the email, only sharing it as I received it. You can get an idea of who received the email by visiting the membership section of the PCB Chamber website.

At minimum, the FWB bypass is a twenty year project. (and probably far further out than that) First, in order to get base land, it's not just a matter of getting approval from Bob Arnold or whoever's base commander. It has to go all the way to the Pentagon. It took something like 10-15 years of active lobbying on the part of Okaloosa County to get permission to relocate the Ocean City sewer plant onto base land, and that's a far smaller footprint than a highway would be.

And then after that, the envrionmental review is, to put it politely, going to be extremely extremely messy because there is genuinely a lot of verifiable endangered species habitat along the road right of ways. Far more complex than what you got for the new airport, and it will push back actual construction of the project for a couple more years.

And then there's the matter of funding. Currently the state doesn't have enough money to fund projects much higher on the priority list than this road would be, and the private road builders are likely a little skittish after the Bo's Bridge fiasco. (The Garcon Point Bridge in Gulf Breeze which is essentially insolvent) The Mid Bay BA wouldn't want to add that project to their list at this time when they've got other projects going on that are more relevant to their core product- Niceville bypass and second span.

If there are some sort of super sekrit long term plans to close VPS that are tied to the new road, you're probably looking at 2040 or later as a time frame.

I see that one of the optional plans includes four-laning hwy 20, rather than creating a new limited access road. Maybe they are planning the contingencies, based on some of the things you mention, beachmouse.

Does anyone on here have a way of seeing the current lease agreement between VPS and Eglin AFB?

Seems like it would be relatively straightforward to do a Sunshine Laws request with Okaloosa County in order to get most of the agreement. (I can understand if they wanted to black out conditions of the lease related to airport security)

As for SR 20, any sort of widening/rebuilding probably should go inland anyways because the road is very vulnerable to hurricane washouts and in order to minimize impact on the small communities along parts of the road.

I know Eglin is a great target, I'm just saying that if I was going to hijack a plane it wouldn't be a small regional plane full of people w/ big shoulders and short haircuts.

Weren't some of the 9/11 planes RJ's?