Work Begins This Week On Nine Mile Road Widening From Beulah To Hwy 29

September 18, 2016

Work is set to begin this week on a two-year, $46 million project to widen Nine Mile Road between Beulah Road and Highway 29 from two to four travel lanes.

The first work will occur on the segment of Nine Mile Road from Pine Forest Road to Highway 29 as crews will start clearing trees and shrubs to assist utility companies in their relocation efforts with construction activities starting later this month. Work on the portion of Nine Mile Road from Beulah Road to Pine Forest Road is also anticipated to begin this month.

“We’ve been working for 20 years to fix the traffic and gridlock in the Beulah community, as well as bring good-paying jobs and growth, and these improvements will ensure our success,” Escambia County District 1 Commissioner Wilson Robertson said recently “The core growth and the traffic going to Navy Federal and the new OLF-8 Park is going to be well accommodated by widening Nine Mile Road to four lanes.”

Additional improvements include constructing a new bridge over Eleven Mile Creek, new sidewalks and stormwater retention ponds, signalization improvements, drainage upgrades, adding buffered bike lanes, and, if survey results are favorable, noise walls will be constructed at the Heritage Oaks subdivision.

The planned construction work will enhance safety, improve mobility, and reduce congestion for the estimated 19,000 drivers who travel the roadway daily. In addition, the improvements underway support future economic development opportunities for Escambia County and Northwest Florida, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

FDOT said the planned construction work will enhance safety, improve mobility,  and reduce congestion for the estimated 19,000 drivers who travel the roadway daily. In addition, the improvements underway support future economic development opportunities for Escambia County and Northwest Florida.

In a few weeks, those located in the vicinity of the new bridge construction across Eleven Mile Creek will hear noise from pile driving during the day.

Drivers should allow extra time to reach their destination, obey all posted signs and speed limits, and watch for signs with information about upcoming work and traffic conditions.  Drivers may experience minor  traffic delays, lane closures, a 35 mph reduced speed limit and workers in and around the roadway.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Comments

16 Responses to “Work Begins This Week On Nine Mile Road Widening From Beulah To Hwy 29”

  1. Deven Pires on April 4th, 2017 10:42 pm

    Living west of navy fed and driving that stretch if road ti I-10 every day for work at all times, this is the MOST UNNECESSARY project ever. The backup comes from the west bound I-10 off ramp light not flowing traffic properly. They’re tearing up my driveway right now after we spent HUNDREDS of dollars to have it leveled and smoothed out being a dirt road. This is going to create nothing but problems with us that live on these roads making it harder to leave the house with all the construction and new traffic.

  2. Road Scholar on September 18th, 2016 10:33 pm

    I moved here almost 40 years ago. The right-of-way between US 29 and I-10 was ready for improvement. The oak trees were smaller then. It appears the only thing missing were the political “ins” waiting to buy, and sell the property along the highway.

  3. Henry Coe on September 18th, 2016 7:26 pm

    I think if we want nice roads and roads built based on long-term planning, we need to become part of Baldwin County Alabama. Or, we could at least learn a thing or two from how they plan and build roads.

  4. Jason on September 18th, 2016 7:24 pm

    @Frank – no where in the comments was anyone addressing Pine Forest Road north of the 297-a intersection. Otherwise I would have addressed that issue in my comments. Keep in mind commenters are limited to 300 words in each post and not every scenario can be can be optimally covered within that limitation.

  5. randy on September 18th, 2016 6:07 pm

    FDOT is wrong on one lane north pineforest .. that short a distance .. they . Fdot .. should all be FIRED

  6. Sedition on September 18th, 2016 5:40 pm

    Especially with the explosive growth of Navy Federal (and all of the great jobs they bring to our area), this expansion is long overdue and greatly welcome.

  7. GH on September 18th, 2016 4:06 pm

    Might as well 6 lane 9 mile now while it would be cheaper. My guess is that in a short amount of time, is will again be obsolete.

  8. Frank on September 18th, 2016 2:14 pm

    NOTE…Jason …While many may complain about 9 mile Road or Pine Forest Road and many other roads in Escambia County, these folks should be aware that often these roads are “state roads” – as is the case with 9 mile Road and Pine Forest Rd – and are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Any construction projects associated with the roads must be approved by FDOT. While you are Partially correct… Pine Forest rd. at 9 mile North @ 297A north to West Roberts rd is the Counties responsibility.

  9. Cynthia on September 18th, 2016 1:52 pm

    Y’ALL complaining about traffic now. But when they going to do something about it y’all still complaining. After they finish y’all will like it so let them do it.

  10. Cynthia on September 18th, 2016 1:46 pm

    Y’ALL complaining about traffic now. But when they going to do something about it y’all still complaining. After they finish y’all

  11. Jason on September 18th, 2016 1:11 pm

    While many may complain about 9 mile Road or Pine Forest Road and many other roads in Escambia County, these folks should be aware that often these roads are “state roads” – as is the case with 9 mile Road and Pine Forest Rd – and are maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). Any construction projects associated with the roads must be approved by FDOT.

    Its seems to be easy for locals to blame Country Commission for the lack of improvements to the aforementioned state roads, but in reality the locals should be venting their displeasure with FDOT

    Escambia County has two options – the first to prioritize the needs via the local/regional MPO and wait for the FDOT District 3 office (located in Chipley) to find the founds to pay for the upgrades or #2 have the county pay for the upgrades and hope that at some point the FDOT will reimburse the county for the cost.

    Keep in mind that FDOT District 3 serves the Panhandle of Florida. The following counties are located in the District: Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla, Walton, and Washington. As such, the limited transportation dollars must be shared with many MPO’s and along many, many, many miles of state roadways. With this in mind, it takes years before our local project becomes the priority for those working in Chipley to fund.

  12. Dennis on September 18th, 2016 10:17 am

    On the one lane north on Pine Forest my guess is they want us to get to work on time but could care less how long it takes to get home????

  13. Beulah Girl on September 18th, 2016 10:12 am

    And road construction is about to happen at Beulah rd and mobile hwy…I’m happy to welcome the temporary headache for our safety

  14. Jimmy on September 18th, 2016 8:54 am

    Glad to see this happening finally, but Randy is right. Who had the good idea to one lane Pine Forest from I-10 to Nine Mile northbound? Obviously The outgoing commissioner hasn’t tried to drive up Pine Forest Road from I-10 in the afternoon lately.

    Kudos to everyone finally coming together to widen Nine Mile Road. A little headache during construction will be worth the relief once it’s compete.

  15. randy on September 18th, 2016 7:13 am

    You said working for 20 years to fix 9 mile .. what a lie mr Wilson .. and pineforest what a terrible job on a one lane

  16. Joe D. on September 18th, 2016 3:40 am

    “Two year project”……..lol. Get ready for Avalon Blvd 2.0