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Draft Plan Calls For Large Stretch Of Highway 29 To Become Six Lanes
April 21, 2010
The state has big plans for Highway 29, including six-laning some portions of the major north-south artery.
Tuesday, the Florida Department of Transportation and engineering firm Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. presented a draft Highway 29 “action plan” at meetings in Pensacola and Century.
Tentative plans for Highway 29 include six-laning from Burgess Road north to 10 Mile Road by 2015, six lanes from 10 Mile Road to Kingsfield Road by 2020 and expanding to six lanes from 10 Mile Road to Muscogee Road in Cantonment by 2030. None of the preliminary plans call for widening Highway 29 north of Muscogee Road through the year 2030.
In addition, plans call for numerous median crossovers to be closed along the entire stretch of roadway to Tedder Road in Century. Some of the remaining crossovers will have turn lanes added.
“Everything is just a projection and plan at this point,” engineer Ryan Wetherell of Kimley-Horn said. Public input will drive changes that might be made to the draft plan prior to its finalization in the next two months. Additionally, funding is not yet concrete for any of the projects to begin.
As any North Escambia driver knows, one of the major traffic bottlenecks currently on Highway 29 is the railroad crossing in Cantonment where slow moving trains can tie up traffic for long periods. The draft improvement plans for Highway 29 do not address the Cantonment paper mill railroad crossing, Wetherell said.
“There are a lot of challenges to moving an existing railway because of the nature of rail,” he said. “They can be very difficult to move, and often times they have been in place longer than the roadway itself.”
While the entire plan was presented on numerous easel-mounted displays Tuesday at meeting in Century and Pensacola, Wetherell declined to provide NorthEscambia.com with an electronic copy of the draft plan that could be posted online. He said in an email that the design team wants to incorporate any changes before making a complete copy of the plan available online.
Printed draft documents will be on display through Friday at the Escambia County Extension Office in Pensacola and the Century Town Hall.
Pictured top: Century councilman Gary Riley inspects a draft plan for Highway 29 improvements Tuesday afternoon at the Century Town Hall. Pictured inset: Residents discuss changes to Highway 29 near Chance Road in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
28 Responses to “Draft Plan Calls For Large Stretch Of Highway 29 To Become Six Lanes”
Wow ! It will be interesting to see Kevin White’s response to “Mr. Whites Constituent” posting. Since it was enacted during his term!
$500.00 is a drop in the bucket for CSX, but if the ordinance is not enforced it’s not worth the paper it’s written on.
Molinojim took the word’s right out of my mouth! Never say “they can’t close this mill” The only thing left at the Mobile IP mill is the concrete foundation, memories and heartache.
A major problem with Hwy 29 is the horrible drivers! Hang up the phone so you can realize you’re driving 50mph in the left lane and backing up traffic for miles!
We need more educated drivers!
Or you could just turn 29 into a trail like the appalachian trail and when people walk on it they think they have accomplished something!
6 lanes is fine, but they need to re-surface what is already there. I have had to replace three windshields in the last few months..
You’re very welcome and I agree.
White’s constituent-thanks for that information. A $500 fine is of no consequence to CSX and the ordinance should be amended to increase the amount of the fine so that it is high enough to be considered by CSX.
To those that think IP will not/ can not close the plant—talk to some of the EX-IP WORKERS IN MOBILE. They closed that location and the ripple effect is still being felt several years later.
I doubt seriously that IP will close down their mill over having to comply with ordinances. Besides, it seems to be CSX’s responsibility to adhere to those ordinances. IP just renewed their permit and the cost of sterilizing the ground and clean up of the area upon closing would far outweigh the cost of staying productive.
That argument of IP closing if they have to comply is getting old, and is partly why nothing will ever be done about those tracks.
An over pass is the most logical remedy to this problem. The businesses along that stretch could still have access roads, but if they widen to 6 lanes, those businesses will be losing ground to the expansion, and the 29 artery will still be clogged with the train blocking the flow of traffic no matter how many lanes they put in.
Mr White,
There is an Escambia County ordinance that DOES govern the railroad. If you will read, you will see that the following ordinance IS enforceable and only allows CSX to block the intersection for 10 minutes out of a 15 minute period. Do your research, sir, before deciding whether you do or do not have jurisdiction. I have also checked the federal law and it states that COUNTY laws override federal rules when it comes to this matter. I’ve done your research for you this time. In the future, if you enjoy your position, I would suggest doing it yourself. It would greatly increase your chance of reelection.
CODE OF ORDINANCES
ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA
Codified through
Ord. No. 2009-1, enacted Jan. 22, 2009.
(Supplement No. 35)
ARTICLE IV. RAILROADS
Sec. 94-161. Trains prohibited from obstructing roadways; exceptions; penalties.
(a) Except in cases of emergency, no railroad locomotive car, train or other vehicle shall be operated so as to close or obstruct a street or crossing in the county for a longer time than ten minutes within a period of 15 minutes. This section shall not apply to trains in continuous motion but shall apply to trains or cars engaged in switching or engaged in loading or unloading.
(b) An emergency includes, but is not limited to, the following: a railroad accident or collision; a locomotive or rail-car mechanical failure; a track-switching or signal system failure; or blocking of the tracks themselves that is not due to or caused by any railroad company operations, or that is otherwise beyond the railroad company’s control. An emergency does not include events such as delays in scheduling, delays in arrivals, delays in delivery, or any other delay that is not product of an unforeseen mechanical-breakdown in the rail cars’ operation or passage between termini.
(c) Violation of this section by the owner or person in charge of a railroad train or car shall result in the owner of the train being penalized by a fine not to exceed $500.00, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 60 days, or both.
(Code 1985, § 1-27-2)
In response to uv got to be kidding me go to the supervisor of elections website escambia votes.com pull up my campaign report. No one from csx or any railroad gave me a contribution. The BOCC has no say over the railroad or HWY 29 since it is a state roadway and the railroad is regulated by the feds. Please be accurate with your posts and be brave put your name with it. I can easily be reached my office number is 595-4950 and my cell is 393-9264.
IF THEY CLOSED DOWN THE MILL YOU WANT NEED A SIX LANE HIGHWAY. BECAUSE NOT ONLY WILL THE ECONOMY CRASH AROUND CANTONMENT,ALL THE LOGGERS AND SUBCONTRACTED AND LOCAL COMPANIES THAT SERVICE THE MILL WILL ALL BE LOOKING FOR JOBS. THATS ALOT OF PEOPLE EFFECTED BY ONE TRAIN.SO I SAY PRAISE THE LORD FOR THE TRAIN AND ALL THE JOBS THE MILL AND AND TRAIN PROVIDE.YES THE TRAIN IS A HASSLE SOMETIMES BUT WHEN I SIT THERE AND SEE ALL THE TRAFFIC COMING IN AND OUT OF THE MILL AND ALL IT PROVIDES FOR THE AREA , YEA ITS WORTH A LITTLE OF MY TIME.AND IF THE TRAIN SEES A EMERGENCY VEHICLE THEY WILL CLEAR THE TRACKS ASAP FOR THAT VEHICLE I HAVE SEEN THIS PERSONALLY. AN OVERPASS WOULD HELP BUT I NOW ARE COUNTY IS NOT GOING TO DO THAT.THAT MILLS BEEN THERE A LONG TIME AND WE DONT HAVE ONE YET,SO I DONT LOOK FORWARD TO IT HAPPENING ANYTIME SOON.
What is the problem? Instead of spending billions to build an overpass or closing down the mill and losing all those jobs…… Tell the Sheriff to enforce the laws!!!!! Oh the humanity!!! My understanding is that the train is not allowed to stop traffic for more than 15 continuous minutes. We all know that it routinely stops traffic for 30 minutes or more!!! Is CSX or IP a big political donor to Kevin White or Sheriff Morgan? If there is no such law or ordinance, then the BOCC dang sure needs to make one. During hurricane egress, NO TRAINS at that intersection.
Problem solved.
I say 4-lane Hwy. 97 instead of wasting money just to “repair” it……
Why not just build a section of elevated road over the railroad tracks? Of course, that would require that someone other than Roads, Inc. do the work but that’s o.k.
I agree w/all that want something done w/ the RR crossing. I have sat @ home wondering “Where are my kids & husband?” Thinking should I start calling the hospials or the jail & then when they get home they tell me the “got caught by he train”. FIX THAT!!!!
I can understand wanting to expand Hwy 29 into six lanes for hurricane evacuation reasons. Other than that, there’s absolutely no reason why the federal, state, and county governments need to spend millions of dollars on something completely unnecessary as this proposal. Also, isn’t it kind of a coincidence that the first phase of the project is supposed to be completed by 2020, which will probably be about the same time the NAS moves to Rhode Island or some other cold-water state after the next BRAC in 2015? Seriously, as soon as another hurricane hits Pensacola, the Navy’s moving; plain-and-simple. Of course, the county commission is going to do nothing to ensure that the local economy runs on anything more than the Navy Base, fading tourists at Pensacola Beach, and McDonald’s franchises, so yeah…
I don’t see the mill closing any time soon. They just renewed their permit, and if they closed, it would cost them more money to sterilize the ground than keeping it open. They may sell out to other interests, but I doubt they will close it.
Hwy 29 is already a four lane which handles traffic very adequately when it is not backed up at the rr crossing. As for those businesses along 29, what do you think will happen to them if they widen to six lanes? Those in Cantonment are already at the 4 lane curbs and widening will take away all their pitiful parking they now have.
Personally, I happen to like having a cross over instead of driving on down the road and circling back. I don’t understand why they would put those in and then take them out, which is essentially what they are saying. Right?
I don’t think 6 lanes to Muscogee 20 years from now is going to be sufficient either. Stop and think about it. How much of a traffic increase have we seen in the LAST 20 years? How much MORE do you think is going to be here in another 20? Hwy 29 is the main road for all of this county. If you want to go somewhere in Escambia, chances are that you’re going to have to get on 29 at some point. If we have to evacuate, we’re talking well over 200,000 people trying to get through there and the 2 lanes of northbound traffic just don’t handle that very well. They say they want to 6 lane it to Cantonment, but what about the horrible bottleneck when you get to Century? That area is going to have to be addressed too.
Until they decide to finally get the I-110 to I65 connector done, that problem will continue. They need to do something, but it probably won’t happen because it would make TOO MUCH SENSE.
BTW — why is there no mention of this in the PNJ or on WEAR? Seems like Hwy 29 is important to most people in this county.
The trains are the number one problem for sure. I agree with JJ
“I don’t care if they 28-lane it all the way to Detroit, Michigan….. if they don’t fix the railroad crossing problem at Cantonment, this plan is a total failure.”
extend 1-110
Well…before long that mill will be closed so that argument about the railroad will be mute.
you just paid roads inc. to put all those extra exit lanes in molino all
the way down 29 and now their going to redo it to 6 lanes totally.
UMMM and how long was this plan in the works and they knew and
didn’t stop the first road plan.
Geesh! what a waist of tax payer money.
Who you ppl got running the show down there, the MOFIA! BECAUSE
SOMEBODY MUST BE MAKING MONEY OFF THAT LAST DEAL.
WHAT YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THAT, ARE YOU GOING TO
GO DOWN THEIR AND DEMAND YOUR MONEY BACK…THATS WHAT
I WOULD DO, BUT YOU’LL DO NOTHING AND YOU KNOW IT!
We have known they have wanted to widen the highways for years,
it’s for evacuation during hurricanes in florida, among the other thing
that is…..PROGRESS.
Those businesses…the few that are even open…could still be served by access roads. Most of their business is local anyway. I travel that stretch everyday at different times of the day, and 6 lanes is not needed nor would it be needed if an overpass were built over the train tracks. They are performing plastic surgery to fix a hang nail!
“The draft improvement plans for Highway 29 do not address the Cantonment paper mill railroad crossing, Wetherell said.”
Build a six-lane overpass over that intersection.
Local businesses won’t like it (they’ll probably be razed), but it’s either that or head east around it. Either way the character of that intersection is going to have to change forever.
I have to agree with JJ. The single point failure in the only four lane north bound emergency egress for Escambia County is the Cantonment rail road crossing that serves the paper mill. Send them back to the drawing board and tell FDOT to come up with a fix for it. Otherwise why do any improvement at all?
You’re right JJ lets never do anything else to 29 until they deal with the crossing.
Sounds like a plan.
I don’t care if they 28-lane it all the way to Detroit, Michigan….. if they don’t fix the railroad crossing problem at Cantonment, this plan is a total failure.