A citizen-driven initiative to persuade the Florida Department of Transportation to build a visually striking interchange at 17th Avenue and Bayfront Parkway is gaining momentum.

The proposed interchange improvements, the cost of which has not be determined, would be tacked on to the Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement project, scheduled to get under way in 2016.

The $640 million project will update critical infrastructure in the community and accommodate the population growth the Studer Community Institute Metro Dashboard shows the area has seen in the last 20 years. It also will give a boost to the construction industry throughout the life of the project, creating jobs and helping to improve the quality of life in the community.

Earlier this week members of the Florida-Alabama Transportation Planning Organization approved a FDOT plan to spend $215,000 on a project development and environmental study of that intersection.

The study's focus is to determine what can and cannot be done — environmentally and from a cost-benefit standpoint — at that intersection.  

This is what now planned at the intersection as the landing for the new bridge:

The landing proposed by Florida Department of Transportation for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge.

Led by the volunteer group Vision Pensacola, the citizen initiative has gained widespread community support, said architect Steve Dana.

A spokesman for Vision Pensacola, Dana thanked the TPO members for expressing in concept their support for the interchange improvements.

Here is what Vision Pensacola proposes:

One of the possible alternative landing designs for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge. Photo credit: Vision Pensacola.

One of the possible alternative landing designs for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge. Photo credit: Vision Pensacola.

One of the possible alternative landing designs for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge. Photo credit: Vision Pensacola.

The simplest alternative design possibility for the new Pensacola Bay Bridge. Photo credit: Vision Pensacola

"Since then we've had tremendous support from many local civic groups, the East Hill and North Hill associations, City of Pensacola, Escambia Board of County Commissioners and many other local groups," Dana said.

Vision Pensacola's interchange concept "will be considered by FDOT just as any other citizen's project would," said FDOT spokesman Bryant Paulk.

But before any interchange project changes can be considered, FDOT must have in hand the result of the project development and environmental study.

"The Department of Transportation will be looking at this (interchange improvement) project from scratch," Paulk said. "The Vision Pensacola concept is not necessarily what FDOT will be starting from with this study. We're going to do an analysis of that interchange from what we feel is necessary."

Pensacola City Council and TPO member Sherri Myers told Paulk the verbiage used to describe the resolution authorizing the study was confusing to the public.

"Based on how I'm reading this resolution, how does the average citizen know what's being studied unless it's more clearly identified," Myers said. "That's my problem with this."

Paulk said once the study is done, it will be made available to the public and, at that point, DOT will seek public input. The DOT will decide what design improvements should or should not be included in the overall bridge contract.

Following the voice vote approval of the study by TPO members, FDOT did not indicate when the study would be completed.

Escambia Commissioner Grover Robinson and Pensacola City Council member Charles Bare both asked whether the project development and environmental study would hold up start of the Pensacola Bay Bridge replacement project.

Paulk assured the TPO the study would have no impact on the project's early 2016 start date.

FDOT officials said a "Notice to Proceed" to the bridge's general contractor would be sent out within the next week or two.

The TPO also approved a contract addendum that provides a $15 million "no excuse" incentive bonus to the general contractor if the southbound portion of the new bridge is completed within 860 days from start of construction.

For the bonus to take effect the southbound portion of the parallel bridges would have to accommodate both south and northbound traffic from the old Pensacola Bay Bridge until the new bridge's northbound lanes are completed and accepting all traffic.