County considers gantry tolling on Navarre Bridge to fund repairs and future replacement

Sabrina, Santa Rosa County budget director, told the Sales Tax Committee that the board directed staff to reallocate previously allocated design funds toward designing and installing a tolling gantry for the Navarre Bridge as an alternative revenue source after the recent sales tax increase failed.

"The board... asked us to reallocate that fund to designing and installing a toll plaza," Sabrina said, describing a gantry or toll‑by‑plate approach similar to systems used elsewhere in the region. She said the prior analysis (February 2023, based on Escambia County experience) estimated toll revenue at about $2 million per year under a tiered structure that would minimize impacts on local residents.

A committee member asked whether the $2 million estimate assumed a one‑dollar per‑trip charge: "What was that, you said 2,000,000 a year, in potential, was that what a buck a buck a trip?" The budget director responded that the original analysis (Feb. 2023) informed the estimate and that a tiered fee structure with annual passes for locals is likely.

Sabrina described the bridge as a major capital need: staff identified more than $5 million in immediate repairs and cited planning estimates multiple times higher for a full bridge replacement. She said the reallocated funds were originally planned for a PD&E study and that repurposing them creates a clear funding mechanism to invest back into the bridge.

Nut graf: with the half‑cent sales tax increase rejected by voters, commissioners are exploring user‑based and targeted assessment options—toll gantries are one such mechanism under study to create a dedicated revenue stream for a high‑cost bridge project.

Ending: staff said further analysis and design work will define the fee structure, local exemptions or passes, and projected revenue; any final toll proposal would require additional board approvals and public process.