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FDOT Studies Widening Nine Mile To Six Lanes, But Four Lanes Aren’t Done. Escambia Commissioner Questions Why.
September 8, 2020
The $46 million four laning of Nine Mile Road won’t be completed until late spring next year, but the Florida Department of Transportation already has a study underway to consider widening it again to six lanes from Pine Forest Road to Mobile Highway.
An Escambia County commissioner wants to know why it’s taken so long to complete four lanes and why six lanes are under consideration.
For a photo gallery, click here.
“Why the hell is the current project so badly over-budget and behind schedule? That is the question residents I represent want to know,” Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh wrote on his blog Monday, saying he plans to address Nine Mile Road during a Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization meeting this week.
“….this project is tracking to be nearly 24 months behind schedule—residents that I represent want to know why this FDOT project is not a 24 hour a day, weekends and nights, priority for completion? I want to know this too, so I will be asking this question SPECIFICALLY at the TPO meeting we will be having this Wednesday,” Bergosh continued.
“So with this as the backdrop—why are we even talking about making 6-lanes on this road NOW?? Who is pushing this? Did an outlandish, expensive ($74 million), and inefficient “special interest” idea get laughed out of a room full of Tallahassee deciders a few months back, and is this the “new” project this special interest group now is pushing? Gosh I hope this is not the new “we gotta have this” project because there are MUCH MORE important projects that need to come first that will have greater impact on the issues out here than talking about 6-Lanes through Beulah,” the District 1 commissioner wrote.
Bergosh said FDOT needs to address other issues before six laning Nine Mile, beginning with fixing I-10 and the Pine Forest Road exit to two lanes now and add a dedicated turn lane on westbound I-10 because vehicles are currently stacking up on the shoulder of the interstate for about a mile.
He said FDOT needs to get to work on the Beulah Interchange project. “If you pull HALF the Beulah traffic off of 9-Mile Road north to Isaacs lane and what will eventually be our interchange there—-this lightens the traffic load on the heavily-congested portion of 9-Mile Road through Beulah on 9-Mile Road in front of NFCU. Hello?!? Duh??”
And there’s one more thing, Bergosh wrote. The capitalization is his…”FDOT, for the love of God, MAKE YOUR CONTRACTOR FINISH THIS CURRENT 4-LANE PROJECT IN BEULAH BETWEEN EXIT 5 AND MOBILE HWY. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH WITH THREE DAY NO WORK WEEKENDS AND LAME EXCUSES WHEN THIS PROJECT IS TRACKING 24 MONTHS BEHIND!!!”
As NorthEscambia.com first reported last week, the Florida Department of Transportation has credited a virtual update on the Nine Mile six lane study. The virtual project update, interactive map, virtual tour and a comment form are available by clicking or tapping here. The deadline to submit comments is October 15.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Pictured: A look at the construction on Nine Mile Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
36 Responses to “FDOT Studies Widening Nine Mile To Six Lanes, But Four Lanes Aren’t Done. Escambia Commissioner Questions Why.”
CERTAIN COMMISSIONERS RECEIVED MAXIMUM DONATIONS FROM ROADS INC. which ones?
Project Overview
Project Number 218605-3
Work Type Add Lanes & Reconstruct
Status UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Project Limits
From SR 297 (Pine Forest Road) To SR 95 (US29)
Project Length 2.411 miles
Estimated Completion Fall 2020
Est. Construction Cost $16.7 M
Project Manager Ben Smith
Contact this guy if you want action on the 9 Mile Rd Project
Ben Smith
850-981-3000
Benjamin.Smith@dot.state.fl.us
WOW!!! I should get into the orange barrel rental business. Looks like very long term rentals.
Sidewalk Engineers LOL. That’s a good description of all the people involved in these projects. From the six guys leaning on shovels watching one person work to the self-important clipboard carrying project overseer. Incompetence at its best!
None of you seem to know that Panhandle is doing 1 portion of this project and Roads the other, or that its FDOT not FLDOT.
Sidewalk Engineers. GEEZ!!!!
Hey Klondike kid,
Do you remember the name of the idiot woman that was doing the word vomiting at that if the FLDOT meeting you went to?
John boy- LD’s are not how it works for these state contractors. Once they get the contract, they come up with 1 million reasons why it will take longer and be more expensive than they quoted. They ask for approval for the delays, and Tallahassee gives it to them, and actually pays them MORE, and EXPANDS their contract instead of penalizing them. See how that works….?…. The state contractors intentionally fail so that they can soak almost endless amounts of money out of the state. The key for them is to get far enough along in the project that they have “too big (far along) to fail or stop now” status. At that point they will endlessly pull money out of the state to enrich themselves (and kick back money to Tallahassee lawmakers). That is why road projects that seem like they should take 6 months end up lasting 8 years. When the corruption at the state level is as out of control as it is in Florida, the fraud (especially road construction) is absolutely rampant. You should look into the TOTAL racket they’ve created in constructing and managing toll booths in central Florida! Our state legislature in Florida is PURE organized crime through and through. They don’t even bother hiding it these days.
They drag out every single project they work on. It’s amazing that they get a single contract.
If they are going on 24 months behind, can someone please tell me why they are not being hit with LD’s ? Money talks ! I have seen day after day of NO ACTIVITY. There is no excuse for taking so long. I will say this much, ALDOT would not stand for this. Don’t know why FLDOT is.
That’s right, I remember the FDOT deciding to squeeze a campus with 10,000 employees onto a 2 lane county highway bordered by an interstate. there’s a whole lot of county north of 1-10 doing nothing. Darn FDOT Bad
Glad I sold out of Escambia years ago and moved to Baldwin Co. and this is an area I avoid at all cost M-F. Hang in there folks it’s not forever. One day we can look back and tell our grand children about all this and get that funny look back. Ever spend any real time in AT Lan TA. Orange cones are the local school mascot symbol.
@ Sam – I went to a “citizens meeting” w / FDOT when the 3 lane project from I10 to 9 Mile there on Pine Forest was about to start. There was a lady from FDOT ramrodding the meeting. I said then it was foolish to have only 3 lanes instead of 4 & Detroit Blvd. should be fixed to come out at the traffic light on the north side of the interstate. The FDOT lady said I didn’t know what I was talking about. Not sure why they had a meeting, they didn’t listen to anybody.
I can’t count how many times I’ve driven down Nine Mile and seen 8 dudes standing there with their hands in their pockets while 1 guy digs a ditch or runs a machine. The ineptitude of the contractor is beyond astounding. They should HEAVILY penalize the contractor who has screwed up our traffic pattern now for almost 2 damn years….
I think everyone who travels this corridor is livid about the delay so far and to add the suggestion of another 2 lanes to an uncompleted 4 lanes is incomprehensible. Look back at when they 4 laned from Hwy 29 to Davis Hwy..I do not recall any real delays especially of this caliber. They were working on it daily until completed. So why can’t this also be completed in the same timeline as initially promised?
Those that travel this section since March have been thankful that Navy Federal has been working from home. Now they are wanting to restaff the campus in Jan 2021. Can you imagine the nightmare that will be again traffic wise?
It can be done in the time requested at the origination if they will work. Look how quick our I-10 bridge was replaced over Escambia Bay? It was in record time and the contractor received a nice bonus. A bridge would be far more complicated to build as we are witnessing with our new bay bridge than a dry land pave and grade road.
I feel like I should get a piece of cheese everyday after I maneuver the traffic cones and barrels on 9 Mile Rd.
I travel this road daily and rarely see anyone working at any time of the day. Just unreal.
Perhaps the contractor needs to be given a deadline or face a penalty. Why should we have to tolerate this any longer? FDOT needs to establish new guide lines when awarding projects as to the time line and a bonus if completed earlier and a penalty if not.
Hope Bergosh gets his point across and they realize we have a problem that is not being corrected and is going to get worse starting 2021.
Thanks….
Perry I agree with you. The lights in this town are the worst. They Need to go to Norfolk,Va and study how their traffic system works. they have a heck of a lot more traffic but it flows so much smoother.
Lack of foresight on infrastructure improvements has been kicking us all in the ass. Just get done with what you have on your plate…get it done! Damn!!!
Over Budget and Behind Schedule….sounds like a Roads Inc project…
Concerned Citizen nailed it! FDOT is perfectly content to let traffic pile up on all the local roads – not because of volume of traffic or even construction in most cases – but because of traffic signals that are adjusted incorrectly. In addition to Highway 29, just look at the mess on 9 Mile Road east of Chemstrand. There’s no construction there to blame the back ups on – just poorly timed/adjusted traffic signals.
I wonder how much time and fuel are wasted, and emissions increased because of all the poorly adjusted traffic signals in our county.
As far as improper drainage – add Highway 29 northbound through Ensley. The right lane is almost impassable due to water any time it rains.
I will say, that if you complain enough to both to your Commissioner’s office as well as the FDOT, they will evenutally make traffic signal adjustments. Sometimes.
It should have been 6 lanes to begin with. The dumbo who decided on 4 lanes was probably the same idiot who made Pine Forest 3 lanes from I-10 to 9 Mile Rd. Did these people get past 1st grade?u
No more construction til this is all done.. hwy 29 part and nine mile part.. this is crazy.. the area around the publix there at nine mile and pine forest is a joke.. turn lanes need to be made so people can turn in there safely.. instead we are all taking our lives into our hands when we want to turn onto 297A… or turn into the Publix since we share the turn lane.. i hate driving nine mile and stay off of it as much as possible.. too many accidents…. someone needs to also fix the stupid turn light onto Muscogee Road from Hwy 29.. when new light poles went in they changed the lights out.. now no solid green to turn after arrow goes away… we have to wait a whole cycle again… traffic backs up bad there now.. put our other light back up that allows us to turn when clear… when trucks are turning onto Muscogee from 29, usually only 1 maybe two cars can turn after the truck.. and heaven forbid two logging trucks are behind each other.. people are turning on red lights… it sucks sitting through 3 cycles of lights due to logging trucks or other semis turning left there
WTH???? This has turned into another Avalon Blvd situation. We moved to this end of the county in 2015. Construction has been an ongoing issue. When the hell are they going to finish????? This is insane! Shame on FDOT. Shame on ECBCC for allowing this to continue in this way.
DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!! DO THE JOB YOU WERE ELECTED TO DO!!! BE LIKE TRUMP. KEEP THE PROMISES YOU MADE TO GET ELECTED TO OFFICE
Let’s not forget Ingram’s signal company who couldn’t time a traffic light to save their life!! They have almost all the traffic lights messed up on Hwy 29 from Hwy 97 down to W Street.. So add to stress of the construction on the roads that were a horrible job to say the least. Do the FDOT Inspectors actually do their jobs?? Hwy 29 about Neil Road (by Dollar General) has held water in the road for as long as i can remember. Then comes the paving company who you think would correct this issue. Well they absolutely did NOT the water still stands in several places. As most things its going to take a death or serious injury of someone in a car accident for them to act. This no construction, bad paving, & horrible traffic lights is a good recipe for roadrage.
Having worked at a business in that area and dealt with the FDOT on this project, my observation is/was there is enough incompetence to go around for everyone but I would say the majority of it lays at the feet of the FDOT and the myriad of stupid environmental regulations that are in place.
The Exit 5 to Mobile Highway portion of this project is supposedly a fast track contract so decisions could be made quicker. Obviously that did not work.
Just like Avalon BLVD, which took 6+ years as I recall, it really should not take this much time to 4 lane an already existing road.
Simple answer this cash cow should be investigated and let us see where the money truly lands. Past that is you want the job done in a timely manner…….put time limits and money limits on it. Don’t let your contractor be your boss!
Need to write the contract with a penalty clause if is not done on time.
Bama54 is 100% correct Roads Inc doesn’t have the man power to do these projects and they move equipment around like checkers on a board from project to project.They are just over whelmed by all the work they have and no workers,
i am 58 years old . as long as i can remember ..(1966-1967-1968) the south side of 9 mile road everyone was set back 75 feet from the road , WHY? because in the 1960’s someone decided that 9 mile road needed widening. So think about this for 60 plus years they have been widening 9 mile road from Interstate 10 to Pine Forest Road . 60 plus years. Do not think they will pick up the pace …people get paid by the hour.
Why did they do Hwy 29 and Nine Mike Rd at the same time? Should’ve done one with both teams and then the other.
Mr Nobody, you nailed it. You need to call it by it’s name “Roads Inc”. They are contractors on both projects. They won the bidding for the jobs, but they don’t have the man power, or the equipment to get the job done in a timely manner. I know they have good intentions, but spread themselves very thin.
The Answer Is Very Easy ( Road’s Inc ) They Are Always Behind On Every Project And Shotty Work
Beulah Life Matters! This needs finished all the trash and debris on the roads also are a hazard!
FDOT. Is a bunch of CRIMINALS
That’s a construction site? Oh, I thought it was an outdoor barrel and equipment storage area.
Please someone speak up about the 9 Mile construction fiasco! You rarely see anyone working on this project. Don’t blame this on covid 19. This is an egregious waste of taxpayer time and money. We are all held hostage out here by poor temporary road designs, and long wait times. When Navy Federal goes all back on campus, the interstate lines will be past pine forest exit again, when they have had less traffic for the past 6 months and still have not finished. Ridiculous, FDOT!
Someone’s cousin is making a killing…
Its about time someone with some influence decided to say what all of the citizens have been saying. They are hardly ever working . Its just construction for miles and no workers. And the repaving of 29 from cantonment to the north end is worse that the old road! They did a horrible job on that. Can we get a refund? Can we please bring in some contractors with the man power to complete these tasks? I for one am sick of seeing the money I work my butt off for and pay in taxes be wasted.