The Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners last week approved allocating $5 million to cap the final 52 miles of stabilized dirt roads, bringing the “50-in-5” project close to completion.
- “We will be out of the quasi dirt road business,” Road Division Chief Rob Vandenbroeck told commissioners.
The project has exceeded its original goal. Since its inception, approximately 200 miles of dirt roads have been stabilized with lime-rock, and 148 miles have been capped with asphaltic applications. The initiative was designed to stabilize 50 miles of dirt roads within five years to improve driving safety, reduce erosion and decrease recurring maintenance costs.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel praised the effort during Tuesday’s meeting, saying it should be recognized in honor of Commissioner Nathan Boyles, who originally championed the project.
- “He really championed this,” Ketchel said before moving to approve the allocation. “So I’m very excited about it.”
The county has allocated $19,970,000 in half-cent surtax funding to date for both stabilization and capping work. The newly approved $5 million from FY26 Surtax Reserves will cover the estimated $4.7 million cost to cap the remaining roads, with additional funds for contingency.
Chairman Paul Mixon supported the allocation but noted the work isn’t entirely finished. About eight miles of roads remain in negotiation.
“I can’t sit today and say we’re finished knowing that we have that just over eight miles remaining,” Mixon said. “We still have hundreds of folks that live on them, and I want to see us finish that.”
The Infrastructure Surtax Advisory Committee approved the funding recommendation at its Nov. 13 meeting. Public Works Director Scott Bitterman credited the department’s team for the project’s success, particularly highlighting Vandenbroeck’s leadership in implementation.
The County Road Division has been monitoring capped roads over time to address weak areas and provide stormwater hardening as needed.
3 Responses
Ask the people living on the dirt roads if they wanted them paved or not. Unless it’s new people moved the area the answer is no. They liked the dirt and didn’t want that to change. Just another sad step away from rural living.
That’s not true. The people on our road have lived here 20 to 50 years and we want our road paved.
The road Patti is speaking of is Curtis Madden Road. I have been waiting for over 20 years for this to be paved. Curtis Madden is heavily used since the bridge on Old River Road has been taken out and is under construction.