When’s Roadwork Going to End on John Sims in Niceville?

You’ve noticed it, right? For miles and miles through the middle of Niceville – there’s roadwork. Whether its the endless lines of orange cones or what looks like wooden scaffolding holding up little hills where sidewalks are supposed to go – you and I live the daily grind on State Route 20. Many of the smart among us have moved to take Spence Parkway around the city.

The good news is that we are toward the finish line on this 285-day road project, which the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) said would take until December 2022.

Early on in the project, though, FDOT announced there would be a delay of a couple of weeks. Niceville City Public Works Director Jonathon Laird said FDOT gave him an estimated completion date of January 21st, 2023 at their last bi-weekly construction update meeting.

There may be an additional delay while FDOT finds the subcontractor responsible for pouring the concrete sidewalks along the north side of John Sims Parkway. “The sub[contractor] went AWOL,” Laird to the City Council on Tuesday.

Uneven Roadways and Rugs in Front of Drainage Cuts

Mayor Daniel Henkel asked Director Laird if the current unevenness between the two lanes of roadway on the westbound side of the road would get fixed by the construction crews or left as is. “Everything put down now is temporary,” Laird told the mayor, “[FDOT contractors] milled [the road] down three inches and will come up another two. They will put the final inch or inch-and-a-half on it when they are complete.”

Henkel and Laird shared a laugh about the many calls they have received regarding the ‘rugs’ in front of the drainage structures alongside the highway as well. The ‘carpets’ are used to keep sediment and other potential runoff that could clog the feature out of the drain to reduce flooding chances later.