FDOT discussed State Road 20 comprehensive study

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – The Florida Department of Transportation has plans to widen State Road 20 all the way across Bay County.

Florida Department of Transportation officials said they plan on elevating portions of the road and widening it to 4 lanes.

“We’re looking at widening State Road 20 from State Road 79 and Ebro all the way to U.S. 231 and Bay County. Again, two counties we’re looking at, over 27 miles,” Florida Department of Transportation Public Information Officer Ian Satter said.

They have begun the long process of studying the project costs and impacts on the area. The State Road 20 expansion study began in 2022, and officials said it’s going to be a while before they actually break ground.

“We’re going to look at all of the information that we have to look at including everything from traffic counts and any sort of archeological or ecological impacts to the area. Once we’ve compiled all the information, we should have the variables that we need, that we’ll have all the data points and we can come to a conclusion about moving forward with design for State Road 20,” Satter said.

Satter said it’s important to make sure they don’t disturb the environment or encroach on personal property.

“We don’t want to have impacts on certain habitats for specific animals if they’re endangered, for example. We also want to make sure that we’re not displacing homes or businesses that we don’t have to, affecting property if we don’t have to,” Satter said.

Satter also said the study will last another year and a half before the project moves into the design phase.

“There’s a lot of considerations that go into a study. That’s why it takes a couple of years to complete because we have to make sure that we are looking at all the data thoroughly before we can come to the conclusion about moving forward with actually widening the roadway,” Satter said.

Even when the study is completed, the State Road 20 expansion project will last well into the future.

“A lot of money is going into Bay County at this time, and we’re going to continue to invest in transportation in Bay County. We also have to look at what projects are priorities in that region,” Satter said.

The study is projected to be completed by the end of 2025. It’s too early to know when construction will begin and how long it will take. Satter said they will have a better timeline once the project reaches the design phase.

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