Many can give thanks to Senator Don Gaetz for his efforts in bringing this project to the area. As he noted, with the growth of the new F-35 Training Squadron along with the many others wishing to live in Crestview and work in Fort Walton Beach, it only made sense to have this project to move the traffic more efficiently from the North to the South parts of the county.
Flyover continues on course
Project also will widen SR 85 from General Bond Boulevard to NWF Regional Airport
By KARI C. BARLOW
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4438 kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com
VALPARAISO — The flyover under construction at State Roads 85 and 123 once again is changing shape. Earlier this month, crews installed eight concrete beams that will elevate SR 85 traffic above the entrance to Northwest Florida Regional Airport. “They’re forming the deck for the airport overpass on 85 with reinforcing steel,” DOT district spokesman Ian Satter said. “They’re going to be doing a lot of work in that particular area.” The 120-foot concrete beams were brought in from Tampa and lifted off trailers with large cranes. “The effort required a significant amount of coordination and planning,” said Mike Lenga, project manager for Greenhorne & O’Mara, the firm managing the project. “The entire team did a great job and we’re pleased to see this milestone achieved.” Crews also will work on the barrier walls for the overpass in front of the airport. The mechanically stabilized earth walls that have been completed bear the U.S. Air Force insignia as a tribute to the community’s longtime partnership with Eglin Air Force Base, Satter said. The $25.6 million project began in August 2009. It is being built by the Florida Department of Transportation with federal stimulus dollars. The flyover, which is set to be completed by the fall of 2012, was designed by H.W. Lochner and is being built by Anderson-Columbia. The project will widen SR 85 to six lanes between General Bond Boulevard and the airport. The flyover on northbound SR 85 will connect motorists to SR 123. Access to Northwest Florida Regional also will be changed by elevating the northbound and southbound lanes of SR 85 to pass above the northernmost entrance to the airport. A new frontage road will link airport traffic to SR 123. “One of the things people will probably start to see around February is … the steel beams for the bypass section, the main part of the project,” Satter said. “People are probably curious that we built up part of that overpass and then left it alone for a while.” Satter said work crews had to make sure all the necessary traffic shifts were built before the main flyover could be finished. “We had to do those smaller bridges first and then we can do the actual bypass,” he said. DOT officials said motorists should continue to be aware of reduced speeds and lane shifts, and use caution when driving through the construction zone.
Flyover continues on course
Project also will widen SR 85 from General Bond Boulevard to NWF Regional Airport
By KARI C. BARLOW
Northwest Florida Daily News 315-4438 kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com
VALPARAISO — The flyover under construction at State Roads 85 and 123 once again is changing shape. Earlier this month, crews installed eight concrete beams that will elevate SR 85 traffic above the entrance to Northwest Florida Regional Airport. “They’re forming the deck for the airport overpass on 85 with reinforcing steel,” DOT district spokesman Ian Satter said. “They’re going to be doing a lot of work in that particular area.” The 120-foot concrete beams were brought in from Tampa and lifted off trailers with large cranes. “The effort required a significant amount of coordination and planning,” said Mike Lenga, project manager for Greenhorne & O’Mara, the firm managing the project. “The entire team did a great job and we’re pleased to see this milestone achieved.” Crews also will work on the barrier walls for the overpass in front of the airport. The mechanically stabilized earth walls that have been completed bear the U.S. Air Force insignia as a tribute to the community’s longtime partnership with Eglin Air Force Base, Satter said. The $25.6 million project began in August 2009. It is being built by the Florida Department of Transportation with federal stimulus dollars. The flyover, which is set to be completed by the fall of 2012, was designed by H.W. Lochner and is being built by Anderson-Columbia. The project will widen SR 85 to six lanes between General Bond Boulevard and the airport. The flyover on northbound SR 85 will connect motorists to SR 123. Access to Northwest Florida Regional also will be changed by elevating the northbound and southbound lanes of SR 85 to pass above the northernmost entrance to the airport. A new frontage road will link airport traffic to SR 123. “One of the things people will probably start to see around February is … the steel beams for the bypass section, the main part of the project,” Satter said. “People are probably curious that we built up part of that overpass and then left it alone for a while.” Satter said work crews had to make sure all the necessary traffic shifts were built before the main flyover could be finished. “We had to do those smaller bridges first and then we can do the actual bypass,” he said. DOT officials said motorists should continue to be aware of reduced speeds and lane shifts, and use caution when driving through the construction zone.
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