Milton council backs request to add US‑90 corridor to Florida strategic intermodal system, 5‑2

The Milton City Council voted 5‑2 on May 13 to ask state transportation officials to designate a segment of U.S. 90 and connecting roads as part of Florida's Strategic Intermodal System (SIS) to seek higher priority for funding to widen the road and address capacity and safety problems that affect access to Naval Air Station Whiting Field.

Mayor Heather Lindsay said the resolution was "simply a means to an end of escalating our importance so that we can access funding that is currently not available to us." The mayor told the council the request would allow Milton to seek higher priority for right‑of‑way and construction funding that staff and regional partners say are not currently programmed.

Why it matters: The corridor covered by the resolution runs from State Road 87 north of Interstate 10, west on U.S. 90 to State Road 89 (Dogwood) and north on Dogwood to NAS Whiting Field. Council and staff said the corridor currently operates at a failing level of service as measured by FDOT and the Florida‑Alabama Transportation Planning Organization, and that right‑of‑way funding for bridge widening and four‑laning has not been programmed. City officials said moving the corridor into the SIS could increase the chances of getting funding sooner than waiting on the non‑SIS project priority list.

Discussion and public comment centered on process and design. Several residents…