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County Wish List Includes $2.2 Million To Pave Three Dirt Roads
January 11, 2010
Escambia County’s $178.5 million legislative wish list includes $2.2 million to pave three North Escambia dirt roads.
The funds, if approved, would pave and improve drainage of Thompson Road, Crary Road and McNeal Road south of Byrneville Road.
“These roads have severe drainage and erosion problems with rising costs to maintain,” according to the county’s funding request. The paving project would help reduce pollution in the Pensacola Bay water system due to decrease runoff and sediment from the dirt roads.
Every year, counties in the state create their wish lists to the Florida Legislature — hoping for funding from the state for projects the county might not otherwise be able to afford.
The $2,203,078 project would include $994,279 for Thompson Road, $866,065 for Crary Road and $342,734 for McNeal Road. The project, according Escambia’s legislative request would directly and indirectly provide a total of 100 professional, labor and manufacturing jobs.
That 100 job total for paving three North Escambia dirt roads is based upon a mathematical formula, according to Sonya Daniel, Escambia County public information manager. Jobs impacted by such a project, Daniel said, include engineering, environmental, surveying, attorney’s, administrative staff, concrete and asphalt haulers, project managers and many more people involved with creating the whole project.
There is no guarantee that the legislature will approve funding for the project. Escambia County pays $60,000 a year to a Tallahassee lobbyist, Richard Gentry of Gentry and & Associates, to push for state funds for items on the wish list — which includes 21 projects in addition to paving the three North Escambia dirt roads.
NorthEscambia.com graphic, courtesy Google Maps.
Comments
16 Responses to “County Wish List Includes $2.2 Million To Pave Three Dirt Roads”
There is probably some truth in everyone’s comments…promises made, excuses made and promises broken. Personally, I think they may have believed that they could do what they promised at the time they promised. But, sometimes things change and they no longer have control over the situation. It would be nice for everyone to have maintained, paved roads and maybe one day it will happen. It all goes back to us being in the North end of Escambia County…we have never been given equal to those living below the 9 mile road. But, as for Pineville Road, seems to me it is a bit difficult to do something about pot holes, ruts, etc. when they continue to log and haul trucks loaded with logs~ even in the rain. There is nothing that can be done under those circumstances. It’s bad and I know it’s hard for those living there and traveling on these roads, but any of them would be the same if they were hauling logs…esp. when it was raining. And as for the parks, etc., I may never use them nor my family, but some will and it will be nice for them. The funds for those are apropriated for them and not for roads, bridges, etc. Not to say it was NEVER borrowed from one account to use on another. Matter of fact, I’d love to see Northview have a pool for those in the north end to have for their swim teams and to not have to go all the way to Washington School to practice or to Brewton to the Y to practice @ $75 a visit… that ain’t roads, but it’s not fair to the kids up here to not have a fair chance…sooo, everyone has a bone to pick…if I were to win the Lotto in a big way, I would really help the schools and offer to pay to have a pool put up here for our students in the north end~ God’s Country!
This is typical for this county. There should be no dirt roads left anywhere, even if they are only a few feet long. They should also resurface existing roads and widen them where you can pass by some one with out riding on the grass. I have to rebuild the front-end on both of my vehicles yearly from the rough edges on hwy 99 and Bearinau Park road. All our commissioners are worried about these days is consolidation. Hey if they start neglecting the south end like they do the north, by all means consolidate. Just a few years ago my Mom got her car totaled by a dump truck on hwy 99, it was almost a head on collision. The state trooper whom wrote the report even thought that these roads are way to narrow. I say we go to the polls in record numbers and vote the bunch out of office, it may be the same in the end but at least it will be new faces that are lying to us. Thank you William for giving all of us a place to Vent, and share our constructive criticism.
“Occie Phillips Rd has a mile of paving ,right mack in the middle of it , what is that , ”
Sounds like a Grady Albritton thing. He promised to pave in front of certain people’s houses if elected, he was and he did—–right in front, but not always on both sides.
The man grew on you, at least he kept his word even if not the way folks thought it meant..
Let us all say” IT IS A BIG,BIG MESS. There is no hope for I have contact Mr. White and his office will give you the run around , I send in pictures of the roads ,washed into ,where you had to creep and roll off in the hole and pray to Jesus the vehicle would push on thru. Mr. Whites assist . secretary or whatever send me a email and told me ,who to contact at the Road department . The road department apparently does not have ,but one grader in this end of the county . So for everyone looking out the front door for a paved rd , don’t hold your breathe. We are blessed to get it graded over in my neck of the woods.But I do hope that they will get the rds in Century paved. Occie Phillips Rd has a mile of paving ,right mack in the middle of it , what is that , so you can gain composer to drive the rest of the dirt road. We have alot of people that have worked hard and deserve better , this means all the people , on all the roads ,paved or unpaved . WE DESERVE BETTER. Back in time, when Janice Parkers father graded roads the roads were taken care of . Slick when wet , but taken care of . God bless the people that are waiting on paving , may not see it in this lifetime..Have a good day.
well, sounds like that our county commissioners have a hand full of business to take care of. Our district 5 commissioner is not even aware of the road conditions of alot of these roads. I don’t know about the roads around Century , but I do care about those people, they deserve a descent way to and from their homes without destroying their vehicles. Its a shame , the front end on my vehicle is mess up now and I hate to fix it , because of Occie Phillips rd ,being in such a foul mess. They graded the road back a week or two ago and it is in bad shape again. But we are a
bunch of taxpaying citizens that are lining pockets for promises made to us.
You don’t know who to trust. So if Century rds get paved God bless you , I have hard feeling toward no one, if it happens. But watch them, if it starts engineers will be everywhere ,doing nothing to pare . More tax dollars going no where. You can find supervisors with the road department , parked up a fire road on Pineville rd or riding down Phillips rd anytime of day. So if we get paving in this end of the county, we should all be thankful to God it came. I AM DOUBTFUL
It would be nice to see the already paved roads properly maintained. Paving of many busy dirt roads are definitely needed as well ! Maintaining what is done is important too!
why not fairground rd. they haven’t paved ours and its been way overdue.
I really wish they would finish paving camp road as well, the county has paved so far down that road from the other end and then just stopped; don’t know why they just didn’t finish the rest. My sister-In-Law was headed to a doctors appointment one morning down that road after it had rained, and after she left the pavement with her tires on her car; it just started sliding and slid off in the ditch and she wasn’t even driving fast, Needless to say after getting her unstuck and out of the ditch, I was all covered in red clay from the unfinished paved road, where I was underneath her car attaching a rope to pull her out…
Years back Anderson Columbia Construction offered to finance the paving of all remaining dirt roads in the county at Prime plus one or two percent. The county officials said that was stupid because they could borrow at better interest rates and didn’t need to borrow anyway because they already had all the money needed to complete all the paving, that they just didn’t have it in their plan at that time. (and that was even after they “borrowed” several million dollars to freeze the Civic Center for ice hockey, bragging that they could do that and not have to pay interest on the internal loan, didn’t even actually have to pay it back, just “intend” to pay it back.)
Years have passed.
Much more money has been taken in.
Construction companies are crying out for work.
Now they are trying to get the state to pay for what they had the money to do twenty years ago???????
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
It’s not working but I’ll keep trying to convince myself.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest everybody involved be horsewhipped.
I will not suggest…….
It’s going to be years before O.C. Phillips is paved. They’re going to have to raise that bridge before it’s paved. I’m told La Floresta is fighting paving Pineville Rd. After considering that my life would change greatly, it doesn’t matter to me if they pave Pineville or not, but I would like to see O.C. Phillips paved. That would help all the people on the south end like us. This is where the greatest concentration of people are. Supposedly they have 1100? loads of dirt slated for Pineville, but I understand they have started with the north end where only La Floresta owns property, while we are sitting down here with a chain of potholes and washes on the south end. We have 2- 91 year old ladies down here who live within 2 miles of each other. If we had to call an ambulance, I don’t know how long it would take them to get here. I have called the road dept. as well as e-mailed Comm. White to no avail. They haven’t even had the decency to at least try to grade out some of the potholes. Thanks, water lady. We also need the mail carrier and school bus drivers to complain. Janice Parker
Well the county needs to do something and paving these three roads is a good start. After all we are living in the 21st century but the conditions the roads are in, it looks like the early 19th century. Very few improvements in both bridges and road pavings have happened in this county especially the north end of the county for the last 25 to 30 years. Do something Escambia County and pave these roads!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
To “small one”: If anybody living on these roads was owed a favor from the county commission, these roads would have been paved in 2004, as originally promised when the property owners deeded right-of-ways to the county. I agree with Scott Lassiter–hopefully our prayers will be answered in this regard. I am not familiar with the conditions of Enon School Road, Occie Phillips Road, or Pineville Road but I can sympathize with the people who live there. Thompson Road routinely floods out to the point of being impassable with a gas main exposed on one side of the road. Especially during heavy rains, one side of the road washes away, forming a huge ditch, in some places over 4 feet deep. The clay turns to the consistency of jello, making it difficult to keep your car on the road and out of the ditch. I don’t know how a school bus makes it through this mess.
Lets talk about some bad roads, some really bad drainage problems and the County of course knows all about it , there must be some one that lives on these roads , that did a favor or is owed a favor from out wonderful county commissioners.
Woo hoo , Enon school rd has a retirement home on it and the roads get flooded to the point , you can not get in or out to that retirement home. Occie Phillips road it stays in foul shape all the time, because of drainage problems, but its because one person owns the larger part of the land that the drainage runoff would be put on . Pineville rd..all I can say for these people are God bless you each, they had to drive thru nokomis rd to get out of the area that they lived in , during all the rain ,last time. So I think keeping the roads in fair shape is not to much too ask for. The county really needs to get up with things and realize that there are people living in these areas and at least graded and improve the drainage , however they have to ….Just saying…..
We all have deeded land to the Escambia County in exchange for a paved road that we all thought we were going to get at some point. You bet we are still paying the L.O.S.T. We will never in my lifetime see these roads paved. Just wish I had never given them my real estate.
About Time. Prayers do get answered.
Don’t we have a penny sales tax to fund these projects. Oh yea – that’s right, the BOCC is using this money for building pet projects, like ball parks that we really don’t need.