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New Florida Budget Includes $7.7 Million To Resurface Highway 29
May 27, 2011
The almost $70 billion budget signed Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott includes over $7.7 million to resurface Highway 29 in North Escambia from Pine Barren Road north through Century to the Alabama state line.
The budget for the 15.5 mile project is $7,709,279. Bids are expected to be let in the coming months.
At one point earlier this year, Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies were handing out three or four accident report forms a day to Highway 29 drivers with busted windshields. Some area residents are on windshield number two or three since the pavement began to deteriorate and “the rocks” began to appear over a year ago on the stretch of Highway 29.
Back in February, a Florida Department of Transportation Geotechnical Foundation Investigation crew performed pavement tests on the roadway, and high-powered blowers have been used since in an effort to remove the loose rocks from the crumbling highway.
Pictured above: The new Florida budget signed Thursday by Gov. Rick Scott includes $7.7 million to resurface a portion of Highway 29. Pictured below: The Florida Department of Transportation has been using this high-power blower to remove rocks from the deteriorating highway. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
23 Responses to “New Florida Budget Includes $7.7 Million To Resurface Highway 29”
Footballmom is correct. Anderson Columbia paved this entire section of US 29 – most of it in 2001, but the northernmost 2 miles in 1999.
My sneaking suspicion is that the hard freeze endured by North Florida the last couple of years had something to do with the rapid deterioration of the pavement. Things like this happen, and the local FDOT District has done an excellent job of accelerating this repaving due to the large public outcry.
Name (required) The paving in question was done by Anderson Columbia. If in fact Roads Inc done from Muscogee to Quintette doesnt make a difference. The article states paving from Pine Barren to Century. That is WELL north of where you are talking about.
William – can you investigate WHO done previous paving?
With all the characters we have locked up in escambia county, we should be able to field a regiment of pot hole patchers, these roads are bad!. We can rebuild Iraq but not our own roads, wish I drank.
Roads Inc. paved Hwy 29 from at least Muskogee road to north of Quintet. I can not speak to who did that north of there buy I travel up 29 every day and recall the Roads Inc. equipment on that job up that far and it is falling apart just like the rest so I suspect they did the whole thing.
Someone needs to investigate this, and make sure that whoever did it does not get the opportunity to do more of the same next time.
They need to make 29 six lanes since its a hurrican evac road and I live in Cantonment and dont go farther north than Neal road but I know it sucks on north 29.
Steve
Your last line said it all but they will never stop all that.
Hey chichi:
Half million is nothing.
They are spending 10 MILLION on a sports plex near perdido key.
Just to comment on the person who made the statement about Roads inc, They have never paved any part of Hwy 29, the company i work for Panhandle paving and Grading did the section between Hwy 97 and the red light in Cantonment a few years ago and the Section north of Hwy 97 that was done recently was done by Anderson Columbia.
My entry for the worst paved county road contest is Kansas Rd.
william,
thank you for pointing out what roads are maintained by who. I thought 99 and 97a were state, but now I know who’s ear to tug on to try and get a fix. we all need to let the county officials know there is a problem.
true hwy 29 is state but to all those that live on dirt roads or roads in needof repair might ask our elected leaders which is more important paving and repairing roads or spending HALF MIL DOLLARS ON A SPORTS PLEX IN CANTONMENT
How about putting in a stop light at the intersection of HWY 29 AND Hwy 97????? PLEASE!!! I hear the sirens everyday and there are at least 2 accidents there per week and more if it rains!
Great news, 29 is horrible. This is the first road a visitor drives on in Florida. 1st impressions are everything.
Okay, so it’s state roads. Big deal. Oh my, 29 is bad. When are the promises made for paving the dirt roads in the north end of the county going to be kept. If the state has money for state roads, then the county should have money for county roads. If not, talk to the state, they seem to have money for REPAVING.Is 29 bad, sure it is, but we could all do a better job of not tailgaiting and cutting people off and avoid some of the damages. (I’m not saying thats how all of them where done, just some of them)
On the road discussion, keep in mind we are talking about the *state* budget. The only state roads in North Escambia are Highway 29, Highway 97 and EAST Highway 4 from Hwy 29 into Santa Rosa County.
I know those roads, those who say how bad 29 is must not ever drive 99 north or south and 97A. or arthur brown for that matter. and toping the list would be morgan road. i bet most do not even know where morgan road is. I know the roads, I drive them everyday. I have had the broken windshields and paint chips but the roads I named are by far the worst.
joe must live down south of Molino some where because he surely doesn’t know the strech of 29 between Champion Drive in McDavid and Highway 4 West in Century. How about getting out more often and drive this strech of Escambia County’s only four lane north/south highway and then tell us how good of shape it is in.
I wonder if Roads Inc. will be specifically exempt from the bid given the failure of the current surface?
What was the conclusion of investigation (reported earlier here) on the high windshield replacement rates on Roads Inc. resurfaced roads>?
Is there a connection, and if so any indication that something will be done?
I see secondary roads all over Baldwin Co. ALA. that are in better shape than I- 10, where do they find the money?, even Greene Co. Al., one of the poorest in the nation has better roads than we do.?
joe, have you ever been on 29 between Molino and Century??? It’s awful, in my family we have replaced 5 windshields in the past 2 years (My husbands truck twice, my car once, and my brothers car once, and my moms car once). My cousin drives to NHS everyday and I know of 3 times in her 4years there that she has had her’s replaced. Not to mention all of the chips on the front of my car because of the rocks. I’m all for HWY 29 being repaved!!
of all the roads in our area, hwy 29 is probably in the best shape. now there will be no doubt it is. we have lots of fun ahead of use with windshield repairs and removing that gooey tar crap from our cars. but at least the best road will continue to be the best road. so much for the ones that need desperate repair and resurfacing!
Dear Driver:
I’m going to hang in there a little longer.
Sincerely,
Your Windsheild
great. it’s like running an obstacle course to get to pensacola. had 1 windshield repaired this year, so far.