A recent article published by TR related to a new apartment complex in the Northeast development at the intersection of Bull Headley and Bannerman Road generated comments related to the status of the widening of Bannerman Road.
Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch recently provided an update on the project via social media and provided answers to questions about the update.
Welch’s update indicated after pavement and soil testing in 2022, it was determined that a full reconstruction is needed rather than just resurfacing. This means more materials, larger stormwater ponds, and a longer construction timeline.
Welch stated that construction begins in 2025, starting with improvements at the Bull Headley intersection. From there, crews will rebuild the road in sections through 2035. To keep traffic moving, finished sections will open as they’re completed. Utility work is already underway to help reduce future disruptions.
Many commenters were concerned about the 2035 completion date and stated that 10 years was too long to complete a much-needed road.
Welch replied that the vast majority of the project will be done by 2029. Welch added that the new road is 6 miles long, will require a completely new roadbed, and 350 individual right of way acquisitions are needed. Also, according to FDOT and industry standards for road construction, it takes about 1 year to build one mile of new road.
Other issues addressed by Commissioner Welch: the sidewalk on Bull Headly from Chadwick to Bannerman will be finished, the completed road will be 4 lanes to Preservation/entrance to SummerBrooke, then 2 lanes with a median and turn lanes to Meridian, with a roundabout at Meridian.
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so a roundabout at Meridian? So that the semis delivering to WalMart, Target, CVS, Walgreens, and Publix x 2 at constant high speed from the toll road can regularly kill Meridian/Bannerman drivers?? Bannerman Rd is an absolute nightmare, and none of that Bull Headley house/apt construction should have happened until the road/roadbed/right of way acquisitions were done. Asleep at the wheel, County Commission. Worse yet, not asleep, just entirely self-interested.
Why weren’t the right-of-ways already secured? Remember the big flashing orange signs in December of ’22? ROAD WORK TO BEGIN JAN 5 2023.
It’s simple: they ran out of money. Or will run out of money. Or are planning to run out of money.
While I can appreciate that the discovery of the need to completely rebuild Bannerman would lead to delays in completion of the project, I do not understand how the county commission would continue to allow development permits along Bannerman (e.g. Landon Hills, etc.) to proceed BEFORE THE ROAD EXPANSION IS COMPLETED. They evidently have known about the delay since 2022 but have put no restraints on the builders proceeding, There used to be a concept called CONCURRENCY that was applicable to these situations: roads and other infrastructure should be completed BEFORE new development impacted current residents. I guess those good old days of responsible growth in Leon County are gone – hopefully not forever!.
Who did the pavement and soil testing in 2022, was it someone who got the Contract or hoping to get the Contract or was it an Independent Company that didn’t have a chance to get the Contract?
When 5th Avenue got a “Remodel”, it too got a new Roadbed which it most likely did not need.
Democrats love raising taxes. Bannerman Road widening will be a giant mess.
So are my taxes going up to pay for all this?