At the latest Okaloosa County Commissioners meeting, the board unanimously voted to approve the spending of $550,000 of half-cent surtax funds for administration, traffic study, and design of the College Blvd Improvements in the Niceville area.

• The purpose of the project is to improve safety at intersections into-and-around Northwest Florida State College and to enable a safe, two-way, multi-use path along College Boulevard and along Forest Road in the Niceville area.
• The path would provide safe connectivity between the Northwest Florida State College Campus and surrounding residential areas.

The intersection safety improvements and multi-use path were identified in the Surtax Annualized Funding Projection under Transportation Capacity for College Boulevard Improvements. This project was recommended by the Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee on July 14, 2022.

The estimated cost for the project is around $3 million. Okaloosa County will receive $1,500,000 of State funding to help pay for the Multi-Purpose Path and will match the State funds with $1,500,000.

The traffic study will identify safety improvements, such as traffic signals or roundabouts, at the intersections around the Northwest Florida State College, according to Public Works Director Jason Autrey.

Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee member Matt Turpin said that aside from being able to add this amenity to the Niceville area, it was attractive because they were able to get matching funds from the state.

“When we can do these projects with matching funds, like this State funding, we can make our surtax dollars go further,” said Turpin. “Having a wide path for walking or riding bikes will be a good amenity to living in that area. If you go to the college, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the multi-use path. It’s a very exciting project.”