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Mayor asks council to back resolution urging designation of Highway 90 corridor as strategic for military support
Summary
The mayor requested council consider a resolution asking the TPO and FDOT to prioritize Highway 90 for designation on the Strategic Intermodal System to accelerate funding for a new Blackwater River bridge and improved access to NAS Whiting Field; council agreed to add the resolution to the agenda for discussion.
The mayor asked the council to consider a draft resolution May 13 asking the regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to prioritize improvements to Highway 90 — including a new bridge across the Blackwater River — by supporting designation of the corridor as part of the Strategic Intermodal System.
In remarks explaining the resolution, the mayor said the corridor from Interstate 10 (Exit 31) through Highway 90 to the northbound approaches to NAS Whiting Field is critical to supporting the military mission and to emergency evacuations. The mayor said a previous PD&E study had identified a location for a new bridge but that FDOT currently had no programmed funding for right-of-way acquisition or construction for at least five years.
“The only way I see us getting the improvements needed to Highway 90 is to ask the TPO to support FDOT designating that corridor as part of the strategic intermodal system,” the mayor said. The mayor argued designation would prioritize federal and state transportation dollars for the corridor. Staff told the mayor the TPO meeting on the draft priority list was scheduled for the following day.
Council members asked procedural questions about who makes the designation; the mayor and staff clarified the city cannot unilaterally designate the corridor but can request the TPO and FDOT give it strategic status. The mayor said the draft resolution cites statutory standards and that if council adopted it before the TPO meeting she would convey city support at the TPO meeting.
Council agreed to add the resolution to the council meeting agenda for discussion under ordinances and resolutions. The resolution was not adopted during the work session; staff and the mayor said they would discuss the item in the regular meeting.
