$25 million overpass planned for beach

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla (WALA) - The Santa Rosa Island Authority held a meeting Wednesday to vote on a nearly $50 million beautification project that would include lifting the road into an overpass, allowing pedestrians to cross underneath.

Santa Rosa Island Authority Chairman David Pavlock said the measure is meant to connect the beach-side with the Portofino Boardwalk so pedestrians can get to the shops, restaurants and bars without crossing the street.

"We're in competition with every beach on the East Coast and the Gulf Coast; so we wanted something that was unique. It would make it more of a walk-able beach, you could just park your car and then go do what you want to do," Pavlock said.

The overpass itself would cost around $25 million to complete.

It beat out a cheaper proposal that would create a pedestrian walkway over the existing road.

"That was an $18 million project and would lose more parking places, so it wasn't embraced by anyone on the board. They felt like out of the two, the better one was the more expensive one." Pavlock said.

The vehicle overpass will also decrease around 300 parking spaces from the beach.

Many folks who attended Wednesday's meeting weren't in favor of either plan.

Santa Rosa Island Authority Board Member Dr. Thomas Campanella voted against the proposal. He said it could do more harm than good.

"Anyone that's been around town where there's construction going on, they avoid it as much as they can," Campanella said. "So, there could even be a period of time there will be a decrease of cars across that bridge. There will be a decrease in economic impact because people won't be there."

He said he thinks an overpass of any kind on Pensacola Beach will be an eyesore.

"There's an alternative to go under the road with a walkway. Most of the pedestrian traffic out there is during the summer; and it is daytime hours, not nighttime hours. So there's other ways to crack the nut and not spend $24 million to do it," Campanella said.

Officials said one way considered to pay for the project is to increase the Pensacola Beach toll from $1 to $2.

The proposal will go to the Escambia County Board of Commissioners for the final vote.

If you'd like more details on the proposed plan, including photos, you can find it on the Santa Rosa Island Authority website .