DESTIN, Fla. — Traffic back-ups and vehicle crashes on Highway 98 in Okaloosa County is not a new problem. Now, the Florida Department of Transportation is looking to address the issue.

The proposed road and bridge expansion project would stretch from the east end of the Brooks Bridge to the east end of the East Pass Bridge.

There is no timeline or budget for the project. But FDOT has released a study that includes a vision for it.

Destin Mayor Bobby Wagner says he’s on board and wants residents to share their thoughts at an upcoming public meeting.

“It doesn’t really matter where you live, we all address Hwy. 98 as ‘Bloody 98,'” Wagner says.

Data from an FDOT project development and environment study highlights existing crash data, showing where the most common crashes along Hwy. 98 take place.

Some of the most accident-prone areas include Hwy. 98 and Pier Road, and as soon as you get off of the East Pass Bridge near Stahlman Avenue.

“With U.S. 98 the key concern, right there is congestion, and obviously we have several parts of the corridor that have seen an uptick in traffic in recent years,” says Lan Satter with FDOT.

That’s why FDOT has created the study, looking at the possibility of widening parts of Hwy.98 from four to six lanes.

The potential project would span roughly five miles from near the Okaloosa Island Pier to the east end of the East Pass Bridge. It includes expansion from Pier Road to Gulf National Seashore Drive to the East Pass Bridge, and from the East Pass Bridge to Stalhman Avenue.

Satter says the East Pass Bridge would be reconstructed.

“If you’re going to widen the roadway to six lanes, you’d also have to widen the bridge structure for East Pass Bridge and that area, so you’d have three lanes of traffic,” says Satter. “But the enhancement here will obviously be the pedestrian and bicycle facilities.”

Mayor Wagner says he’s in favor of the project.

“Adding lanes is not solving traffic,” Wagner says. “Adding lanes is adding capacity. That’s a checkmark in the state box, but it’s not a long-term solution.”

He says he’d like to challenge the state to not only provide capacity for roads but also add things, like public transportation.

“Trolley networks from commercial hub to commercial hub,” says Wagner.

“It’s about creating a need that the locals can get behind that create local economic vitality, as well as providing a way for people to get around safely,” he says. “Whether it’s walking, biking, a trolley system from the harbor to the convention center to downtown Fort Walton.”

This plan is only in the early stages as FDOT does not have a price tag for how much it could cost.

Satter says the study won’t be complete for roughly a year and a half. And right now, there is no funding available for the next portion of the project: the design phase.

Wagner is confident state and federal funding will be obtained, partially thanks to heavy hitters for the panhandle, Don Gaetz and Pat Maney in the legislature. He says now is the time for the community to speak up.

Community members will have the opportunity to share any thoughts at an upcoming hybrid meeting next month.

“Please do not think that, ‘Oh this project is unfunded, things aren’t gonna happen for a while,'” says Wagner.

“If we don’t have a good plan now, in 10 years, when we’re complaining that this plan isn’t going to satisfy the local needs, it’s because we didn’t do our job right now and create a workshop and public comment that guides where the project goes,” he says.

Wagner urges folks not just from Destin to share their opinions, but also folks in the surrounding impacted areas.

The public meeting will be held on Dec. 3 at the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Convention Center. If you can’t make it in person there is a virtual option that can be found here.