Recommendation Concerning the Funding for the Project Development & Environment Study Update and Preliminary Engineering Phase for the State Road 292 (Sorrento Road) Capacity Project - Commissioner Douglas Underhill, District 2
That the Board discuss the funding for the Project Development & Environment (PD&E) Study Update and Preliminary Engineering (PE) Phase for the State Road (SR) 292 (Sorrento Road) Capacity Project.
[Funding: Per the Florida Department of Transportation, $1,000,000 is needed to update and complete the PD&E Study, and $4,000,000 is needed to program the PE Phase to meet the federal planning consistency requirement.] |
The Sorrento Road Capacity Project, listed as the #22 Project Priority on the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) Non-Strategic Intermodal System, is intended to widen the roadway from 2-lanes to 4-lanes, provide safety enhancements, relieve traffic congestion and increase capacity. The project limits span from Innerarity Point Road to SR 173 (Blue Angel Parkway) along Sorrento Road, and the original PD&E Study was conducted by Escambia County from 2006 to 2014.
After the required Public Hearing, the PD&E was assigned to Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in 2014; however, Escambia County was not able to provide the $17,000,000 local match when requested by FDOT in 2015. In order to meet National Environmental Policy Act requirements for planning consistency that requires at least the subsequent future phase funded, FDOT placed the Study on hold pending commitment of local funds to complete the PD&E and Preliminary Engineering. Based on the incomplete documentation and age of the study, FDOT will need to revise and update most of the critical PD&E documents, such as the traffic analysis, cultural resource assessment survey, noise study, natural resource evaluation, and final environmental document.
Per the Florida-Alabama TPO Congestion Management Process Plan (last updated in 2018), Sorrento Road is currently functioning beyond its allowable capacity. The Level-of-Service (LOS) for this segment of SR292 is max LOS D - 17,700 vehicles per day; however, the roadway functions at LOS F - experiencing over 18,000 vehicles per day. It is anticipated to exceed 20,000 vehicles per day by Year 2022, and 22,000 by Year 2027.
Per the FDOT, the estimate to update the PD&E Study is $1,000,000, and the estimate for the PE phase is $4,000,000. In order for the project to proceed, FDOT would need to secure the PD&E dollars of $1,000,000, and, at least enter into an Agreement with the County, for the future PE dollars of $4,000,000.
Per the Florida-Alabama TPO Long Range Transportation Plan, the estimate for the Right-of-Way Phase is $20,000,000, and estimate for the Construction Phase is $43,700,000. |
| [Funding: Per the Florida Department of Transportation, $1,000,000 is needed to update and complete the PD&E Study, and $4,000,000 is needed to program the PE Phase to meet the federal planning consistency requirement.] |