Okaloosa County Deputy County Administrator Jason Autry said on-site that crews are laying the final surface course on the Southwest Crestview Bypass and Fallen Heroes Way, and that portions of the roadway could open in 2026 once remaining safety and finishing work is completed.

Autry, who spoke at the project site, said, "They're putting the last little surface course of asphalt down," and called the work "a really good sign of progress." He said crews still need to complete striping, sidewalk repairs and traffic signals before traffic can safely use segments of the new roadway.

The project covers about seven new miles of roadway north of the interstate, Autry said, with the segment referred to in the transcript as "PJ" roughly 2.5 miles long; the widening of that segment has been completed and is open to traffic. He described roughly three miles of new roadway on the north side along Fallen Heroes Way that will connect from the interstate toward Highway 98.

On timing, Autry estimated an opening in 2026 but stressed remaining safety and coordination tasks: "I'm thinking the 2026. Like I said, we have some safety issues we have to address. We're still working with some utility companies... The city of Crestview is doing some work. Obviously, the new school is being constructed. We don't wanna get in the way of those and make it unsafe, but I feel like we're within the '26. We're gonna have traffic on these new roadways."

Autry described a construction milestone at a bridge deck, pointing to paving equipment (referred to in the transcript as a "bid well") and saying, "you can see they've put about half the concrete down on that one direction of the bridge and that's a huge step. That just means you're that much closer to work. This is a really good sign of progress."

Cost and funding: Autry gave a total project value of about $200,000,000 and said the project was slightly under budget. He said Triumph provided a reallocation and credited "$64,000,000 plus" from Triumph. He also named the Department of Transportation as a major partner with about $100,000,000 related to the interchange. A local option sales-tax contribution was mentioned in the transcript but the dollar amount was not clearly stated.

Autry said DOT interchange work will continue — he estimated about a year of work remaining — but that lane staging and temporary shifts of the interstate could make portions of the bypass available to traffic ahead of full interchange completion.

County officials said the bypass and associated improvements are intended to open transportation options and relieve congestion in the Crestview area. No formal opening date or public ribbon ceremony was announced during the on-site update; officials indicated additional coordination with city crews, utilities and school-construction schedules will determine precise openings.