Proposed Northwest Florida turnpike would link Panama City to I-10

[thelakelander]

Transportation officials have begun work on a proposal for a new toll road that would bring a four-lane turnpike linking Interstate 10 and U.S. 98 in Northwest Florida.

The proposal, which is still in its infancy, comes after the Bay County Transportation Planning Organization requested a study about building a toll road from I-10 to U.S. 98 about a year ago.

The Turnpike Enterprise, a division of the Florida Department of Transportation, presented a rough outline for the project last week, and a draft study report is still being finalized, according to department spokeswoman Ivette Ruiz-Paz.

https://www.pnj.com/story/news/2023/08/08/northwest-florida-toll-road-panama-city-us-98-interstate-10/70554977007/

[marcuscnelson]

Sounds ridiculous. Basically a real estate gambit for St. Joe and the like.

What benefits would the new toll road provide?

Bay County officials believe the toll road would provide a new emergency-response route, improve commuter travel, support Tyndall Air Force Base and the terminals at Port Panama City and ultimately bring more SunPass users into the region.

A $3 billion turnpike for that? $3 billion would rebuild Gulf Coast passenger rail at the ridiculous CSX prices and probably pay for a spur into Panama City on top of that.

[iMarvin]

$3 billion could do so much for public transportation around the state... FDOT needs a complete overhaul.

[marcuscnelson]

Gotta overhaul Tallahassee first. $7 billion for nothing but road expansion is... certainly a mindset.

Speaking of which, it's impressive that our state legislators don't even care enough about our capital (or their jobs) to want to give themselves a comfortable train ride to legislative sessions. Everyone's stuck either driving or flying out there, including them.

But seriously, this turnpike idea is about as blatant as you can get about trying to develop sprawl. Outer Beltway 2, really.