By ELIZABETH SINCLAIR
Paxton, Fla. – Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has plans for widening and realigning U.S. 331 from Coy Burgess Road, south of DeFuniak Springs to the Alabama state line. Project Manager Peggy Kelley came before the Paxton City Council July 19 to explain the segment of the plan affecting Paxton. Kelley told the council that traffic flow in the area will be double the current number from 4,300 a day to 8,600. Flow, demand and safety are considerations for the changes.
The northern part of the plan she addressed would double lane U.S. 331 from Walton Road, north of DeFuniak Springs to Wain Huckabee Road, about two miles south of Paxton. Then there are two options. One would keep U.S. 331 running through Paxton as a four-lane with 11-foot traffic lanes, a raised median, a seven-foot bike lane and five feet for sidewalks. This route could create issues with the city’s water and sewer lines.
An alternative route would bypass Paxton altogether, making U.S. 331 from Wain Huckabee Road through town for local traffic.The bulk of traffic would go through what is now agricultural land to the east from Wain Huckabee Road to Alabama, returning to the current point at Florala.
The entire process is currently a study that is likely to continue until 2018. Design would occur from 2018 through 2019. Alternative refinements will continue through the summer of 2017 followed by a public hearing. Any final decisions require the approval of the Federal Highway Administration. Peggy Kelley and FDOT Public Information Director Ian Satter, in the District Three (local) office located in Chipley.