Toll road issue ruffles feathers

Is a toll road in the works from Northwest Florida to Alabama?

      It’s been in talking stages for some time, leaders say. Officials in both states have met to discuss a limited-access road several times over the past six years, state Rep. Don Brown said Saturday.

      But “up until the last time I met with them, there was not currently funding to build such a road,” Brown said.

      Those quiet talks erupted this week in Chipley when City Council members scolded Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Ted Everett for discussing the “I-10 Connector” project with its supporters and agreeing to keep the talks confidential. Council members were upset that they weren't in the loop.

      Everett has said he opposes the project because it offers few benefits in Washington County. On Saturday, he sent a press release to the Northwest Florida Daily News announcing that the chamber would hold a public May 15 workshop on the “proposed limited-access toll-driven roadway.”

      The proposal, reportedly supported by a corporation called “Focus 2000,” would involve a four-lane highway from Montgomery heading south parallel to U.S. Highway 331. It would then cut through Jackson and Washington counties to the under-construction West Bay International Airport near Panama City. The toll road would bypass towns and cities like Chipley on the way. There does not appear to be a specific path for the proposed toll road in Northwest Florida.

      Focus 2000 of the Wiregrass Inc. is listed under a registered agent named Steven D. Shaw of Dothan, Ala. It exists to “assist governmental entities regarding hurricane evacuation,” according to records with the Alabama Secretary of State.

Phone calls to a number listed for Shaw in Dothan were unanswered Saturday. Everett also could not be reached for comment Saturday.

      Brown cited two schools of thought on the issue in Florida: One pressing for action on the proposal and the other giving priority to pre-existing projects. That would include the four-laning of U.S. Highway 331 between DeFuniak Springs and U.S. Highway 98.

      Florida Department of Transportation District 3 spokesman Tommie Speights said the DOT has done partial studies on a limited-access corridor and it is feasible, but the DOT is more interested in improving existing roads.

      A county commissioner in Houston County, Ala., told The Dothan Eagle that building the proposed road as a toll road would expedite the project.

      Randy Fox, planning manager for the Turnpike Enterprise department of the DOT said there have been no detailed studies for a toll road.

      “There is no information in place on what they want the road to do or projected revenue,” he said. “There is no good forecast model for either Alabama or Florida.”

      The public hearing will be held at 9 a.m. May 15 at the Washington County Annex in Chipley.