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🚶♀️ Okaloosa County and Destin will jointly apply for a $20M federal grant to build a pedestrian underpass at the busy U.S. 98 and Stahlman Avenue intersection.
🚦 Officials say the project would reduce accidents and congestion by separating foot traffic from vehicle flow.
💰 If awarded, the cities will split the $4M local match; the County plans to use surtax reserves to cover its share.
SHALIMAR — In a joint effort to improve safety and ease traffic congestion, the Okaloosa County Commission on June 10 unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the City of Destin to pursue federal funding for a pedestrian underpass at one of the area’s most hazardous intersections.
The project targets the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and Stahlman Avenue, which officials have described as both “dangerous” and “dysfunctional” due to the frequent conflict between heavy vehicle traffic and pedestrians crossing the road.
“This intersection can be described in two words: dangerous and dysfunctional,” said Destin City Manager Larry Jones. “One of the biggest causes of that is the conflict between the pedestrian traffic and the vehicular traffic.”
The City of Destin is applying for a $20 million federal grant through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program to design and construct the underpass. The project was specifically highlighted as a priority in the Safety Action Plan adopted by the Emerald Coast Regional Council in December 2024.
If the SS4A grant is awarded, the County and City have agreed to split the required 20% local funding match, with Okaloosa County contributing $3.6 million and Destin providing $400,000.
The Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee has already recommended allocating the County’s portion from surtax reserves. The Destin City Council is scheduled to consider the agreement at its meeting on June 16.
“This interlocal agreement puts us in a position that our consultant working on the grant can go forward with the assurance that the matching funds will be in place,” said Jones. “On behalf of the mayor and the city council, we respectfully request your favorable vote.”
Scott Bitterman, Okaloosa County Director of Public Works, explained that the underpass would significantly reduce pedestrian exposure to traffic, lower the risk of accidents, and ease delays on Highway 98.
“It’s actually quicker to go underneath the road than it is to go at grade,” he said, citing a similar successful project in Walton County.
Commissioner Drew Palmer emphasized the project’s urgency.
“Sometimes pedestrians take their lives in their own hands by running across the road there,” Palmer said. “Sometimes that ends very poorly, for both the driver and the pedestrian.”
The underpass is also expected to help reduce congestion caused by the high volume of foot and bicycle traffic accessing nearby attractions.
Improvements to U.S. 98 between Calhoun Avenue and Airport Road, which includes the Stahlman intersection, are ranked fifth on the Strategic Intermodal Systems priority list by the Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization.
However, the Florida Department of Transportation’s current five-year work plan does not budget any funds for such improvements.
Commission Chair Paul Mixon proposed broadening the scope of the project’s location to allow some flexibility in choosing a site along the U.S. 98 corridor.
“If we could go a little broader on 98, I think that would be wiser,” Mixon said.
Commissioner Trey Goodwin echoed support for the plan and suggested similar infrastructure should be explored in other high-risk areas, such as Okaloosa Island.
“Ground-level crosswalks just seem so dangerous and so ripe for unfortunate interactions and collisions,” he said.
Pro Communi Bono
