WAKULLA COUNTY, FL (WTXL) — The Florida Department of Transportation plans to expand a 2-mile stretch of Crawfordville Highway from 2 lanes to 4 lanes to reduce traffic congestion between Wakulla and Leon counties.
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The expansion will cover the stretch between the intersection of U.S. 319 and State Road 61 and LL Wallace Road. That segment is about half of the 4-mile stretch of the highway that remains 2 lanes between the two counties.
More than 16,000 vehicles travel through the area each day, according to FDOT. The agency says a rise in traffic prompted the expansion.
Ian Satter, a spokesperson with FDOT, said a project development and environmental study conducted years ago identified the need to widen portions of U.S. 319. The agency broke the corridor into smaller segments, with this stretch being one of them.
"So our PD&E study conducted years back showed there was a need to widen portions of U.S. 319. So what we did was broke those down into smaller segments, and this is one of those segments. Again, it's about a two-mile stretch, so obviously the key there is improving safety and reducing congestion through this corridor," Satter said.
FDOT says it is continuing to look at U.S. 319 as a whole for more opportunities to widen the road as funding becomes available. Satter said community input is a priority during the design phase.
"Especially during this design phase, having the people that live and work in this area who commute through this region, their input is very important to us so we can make the best decisions that we can make engineering-wise," Satter said.
FDOT will hold a public meeting at the Woodville Community Center on Thursday, Sept. 17. An online option will also be available for those who cannot attend in person.
Project plans will be released on the FDOT project page on Thursday, Aug. 27, at noon.
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