Santa Rosa County Eyes Turn Lanes to Fix Dangerous Tunnel Road Intersection Before Development Makes It Worse

Santa Rosa County, FL (Newsradio 92.3) -- A misaligned intersection near Pace has Commissioner Bobby Burkett pushing for a fix before new commercial development intensifies an already dangerous traffic situation. The Tunnel Road and Quintette Road intersection is heading to Santa Rosa County commissioners for discussion and a potential vote Thursday on directing staff to begin developing improvement plans.

The problem is geometric. Tunnel Road meets Quintette Road at an angle rather than a standard perpendicular intersection, creating conditions that have produced documented near-misses and accidents. Commissioner Burkett said he has watched the intersection closely and considered several options before settling on turn lanes as the most practical solution.

Turn lanes are particularly appealing because they would qualify as a capacity improvement — meaning the project could be funded through impact fees rather than drawing from the general budget. Engineering staff confirmed Tuesday that impact fees are an eligible funding source for the improvement.

The timing matters for another reason. A planned widening of Chumuckla Highway — which intersects with the area — will change how traffic flows through the corridor. Engineering staff told commissioners Tuesday that the Schumacher project will naturally limit the volume of through traffic on Tunnel Road once complete, because the design will prevent northbound turns from Tunnel Road onto Schumacher. That means the majority of drivers using Tunnel Road as a cut-through today simply won't be able to do so once the Chumuckla work is done.

That's actually an argument for acting sooner rather than later on the intersection — the window to design an improvement that accounts for both the current traffic pattern and the coming changes is narrow. Staff hopes to take the Chumuckla Highway widening project out to bid in July, and any Tunnel Road design work would need to get ahead of that.

County Administrator Brad Baker's team, led by engineering staff, confirmed that turn lanes at the Tunnel Road and Quintette intersection would improve safety by separating turning movements and reducing the kind of conflict that currently occurs when drivers try to navigate the misaligned crossing simultaneously.

The item was held on the regular agenda rather than moved to consent Tuesday, so the public will have an opportunity to weigh in Thursday before any action is taken. Commissioner Burkett specifically asked that it remain on the regular agenda to allow residents in the Pace area to participate in the discussion.