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The Hurricane Ivan road closure and damage information can be found on its own page.
Interstate Highways
Interstate 10, the Gulf Coast Interstate, passes by the city of Pensacola to the north. The freeway is overall four lanes in width. Speed limits vary with a 55 mph speed limit posted between Exits 10A/B and the Escambia Bay Bridge and 70 mph overall. The stretch of freeway between U.S. 29 (Pensacola Boulevard) and Florida 291 (Davis Highway) is the busiest stretch of Interstate 10 between Jacksonville and Mobile. To address the 60,000+ plus cars a day that use that stretch, major reconstruction and widening of the highway is underway between Exits 10 and 13.
All of Interstate 10 has been resurfaced with asphalt since 1998. All over and under passes along the freeway were replaced during the late 1990s with the exception of the Escambia Bay twin spans. New weigh stations were constructed between the Alabama state line and Exit 5 and in 2006 a new agricultural inspection station will open along the eastbound side between mileposts zero and one. Major road work involves redesign of the Interstate 110 and Florida 291 interchanges to eliminate weaving traffic concerns by constructing new collector/distributor roadways and high-speed ramps. See www.i10-i110.com for details on that project.
A second major project along Interstate 10 involves the Hurricane Ivan damaged Escambia Bay Bridges between U.S. 90 (Scenic Highway) and Florida 281 (Avalon Boulevard). A massive storm surge toppled many segments of the bridge deck resulting in the overall closure of the spans for three months in Fall of 2004. Construction followed in February 2005 to replace the ailing bridges with new higher and wider spans. The first three-lane bridge opened to traffic on December 19, 2006. Contractors continue to work on the westbound span replacement while both directions of travel share four overall lanes on the eastbound span. Completion of the overall project is anticipated by November 2007. See www.escambiabaybridges.com for those details.
The character of Interstate 10 is often described as boring with a unvarying wooded landscape throughout most of the duration within the Sunshine State. The road also does not ascend or descend much in altitude, nor does it carry much in the way of curvature. The only six lane segment of the Interstate was located within the city of Jacksonville east of Interstate 295, however the current I-10-110 reconstruction project involves six-laning of the freeway from Exit 10 east to the new Escambia Bay Bridges near milepost 21.
Interstate 10 Pensacola Highway Guides
The only child of Interstate 10 throughout Florida, Interstate 110 constitutes a six-mile spur from its parent into downtown Pensacola. The highway consists of four lanes throughout and has a 55 mph posted speed limit.
Talks about extending Interstate 110 northward as a toll road from the northern terminus at Interstate 10 to U.S. 90 Alternate (Nine Mile Road) have been discontinued at the present time. This highway project was thought to alleviate traffic concerns along Florida 291 (Davis Highway) and other area arteries serving the burgeoning northern suburbs as well aid in hurricane evacuation efforts. Due to funding issues, no projects to extend Interstate 110 are planned at this time.
This does not mean, however, that plans for an ultimate freeway connection with Interstate 65 in southwest Alabama have been dropped. Those ideas remain on the long-range agenda of the West Florida Regional Planning Commission. In the meantime, Interstate 110 is under construction involving a widening from four to six lanes between Maxwell Street (Exit 3) and the northern terminal with Interstate 10. The project also involves improvements of the Interstate 10 & 110 interchanges in the form of new high-speed flyover ramps and segregation of through and local traffic movements to the adjacent Florida 291 (Davis Highway) exit of I-10. See I10-I110.com for details.
What about the south end? Well, a story posted in the Pensacola News Journal during December of 2001 covered plans for a replacement or upgrading of the current U.S. 98 Three-Mile bridge over Pensacola Bay. The current span carries just four lanes with a 45 mph speed limit. With growing development along U.S. 98 on Santa Rosa Island and in the Gulf Breeze vicinity, increased traffic capacity is needed for the span (in addition to hurricane evacuation concerns). The unresolved issue is whether to replace the current span with a new bridge, keep the current span in addition to a new span, or to just upgrade the current span (widen to six lanes). In every scenario the possibility of upgrading the section of Gregory Street to the current or new bridge to limited access standards is mentioned. In other words, the current freeway ending of Interstate 110 could be extended east and south, potentially across the Pensacola Bay into Gulf Breeze. This idea however is far from reality as several factors including environmental concerns, businesses and other structures in the right-of-way, and political issues must be overcome first.
Interstate 110 Highway Guides
U.S. Highways
U.S. 29, known as Palafox Street/Highway, is the main north-south corridor in Escambia County, Florida. The U.S. route begins at U.S. 90/98/Cervantes Street near downtown Pensacola and cuts a northwesterly swath along the western edge of the city. The highway is four lanes overall within the state of Florida.
After serving far northern suburbs of Pensacola such as Cantonment and Gonzalez, U.S. 29 heads to greener pastures and rolling hills in northern Escambia County. The highway is four lanes and divided with a 65 mph speed limit through to the town of Century. At Century, the highway widens to five lanes with a reduction in speed limits to 35 mph. Just after crossing the state line with Alabama, U.S. 29 meets and multiplexes with U.S. 31 to the north.
U.S. 29 was originally posted as U.S. 331 from Flomaton, Alabama at U.S. 31 southward to downtown Pensacola. U.S. 29 was extended southward over U.S. 331 soon thereafter. The corridor currently is the main hurricane evacuation route for Pensacola northward to Interstate 65 and the city of Montgomery, Alabama. Upgrades to this corridor may include an extension of Interstate 110 or an independent freeway for U.S. 29 to Interstate 65. These ideas are long range however.
Guide: Florida @ SouthEastRoads - U.S. Highway 29
Known as the "Spanish Trail," U.S. 90 parallels Interstate 10 throughout most of northern Florida. An exception occurs in the Pensacola area, where Alternate U.S. 90 takes the direct route north of the city while U.S. 90 dives into downtown in a looping fashion. In fact, Florida 10 is the secret co-signage throughout U.S. 90 in Florida with the exception of Pensacola. In Pensacola, Florida 10A follows the loop portion of U.S. 90 while Florida 10 follows Nine Mile Road/Alternate U.S. 90.
U.S. 90 sneaks into Escambia County from Seminole, Alabama amidst pastures and wetlands at the Perdido River. The highway carries two lanes and does not widen until reaching Florida 297 near Bellview. U.S. 90 becomes a commercial strip in northwest Pensacola as it sinks southward towards a duplex with U.S. 98 at West Pensacola. The two highways share four lanes as they traverse neighborhoods west of downtown along Cervantes Street.
The two routes split east of downtown, with U.S. 90 carrying four lanes across the newly reconstructed Bayou Texar bridge before turning northward. In 1998, U.S. 90, known as the Scenic Highway east of Bayou Texar, was designated the Florida "Scenic Bay Bluffs Highway." The road snakes along the west shore of Escambia Bay and East Bay northward until it retrieves its alternate route counterpart near the Escambia River. The highway resumes with four divided lanes eastward through Pace and Milton, Santa Rosa County.
Guide: Florida @ SouthEastRoads - U.S. Highway 90
Alternate U.S. 90 bypasses the city of Pensacola to the north via Nine Mile Road. The highway
was once the through-route for the area and whose role is reduced to that of a commuter route for the northern
suburbs of Ferry Pass and Gonzalez. Nine Mile Road serves the University of West Florida campus in addition to
many commercial establishments along its frontage. There are two entrances to the University from the U.S.
highway. The 13 mile roadway derives its naming convention from its position nine miles north of downtown
Pensacola.
Guide: Florida @ SouthEastRoads - U.S. Highway 90 Alternate
U.S. 98 rounds out the U.S. highway system of Pensacola metro. Known as the Lillian Highway as it crosses the Perdido River from Baldwin County and Lillian, Alabama, the highway carries two lanes in extreme southwestern Escambia County. The landscape of U.S. 98 quickly undergoes a metamorphosis from rural with a hodgepodge of residential communities into suburban as the route crosses the Blue Angel Parkway and heads towards the Naval Hospital. All of U.S. 98 throughout this stretch is presently widening to four divided lanes. Strip malls and gas stations dot the landscape as U.S. 98 enters the Warrington vicinity southwest of Pensacola. The highway ends up at U.S. 90 at West Pensacola where there two cosign eastward along Cervantes Street into Pensacola proper.
At 9th Avenue, U.S. 98 parts ways with U.S. 90 and briefly turns south towards the Pensacola Civic Center before resuming an eastern trajectory along Gregory Street. Restaurants and a beautiful view of Pensacola Bay greet travelers along U.S. 98 through this short stretch. At 17th Avenue, U.S. 98 bids farewell to the city of Pensacola on the 3-Mile Pensacola Bay Bridge. The bridge carries four lanes and a 45 mph speed limit as it crosses from Escambia County into Gulf Breeze and Santa Rosa County. The world's longest fishing pier can be seen on the northbound side of the bridge as it stems from the north shore of Gulf Breeze. This pier is the old U.S. 98 bridge converted.
Upon entering Gulf Breeze, U.S. 98 is again faced with strip malls and gas stations, amidst a congested area. Gulf Breeze High and Middle schools also flank both sides of the highway as it cuts through the city southwards. Speed limits are a strictly enforced 35 mph throughout this stretch.
As U.S. 98 resumes its eastward trek at the north end of Florida 399. Florida 399 becomes County 399 and crosses the Bob Sikes Toll Bridge ($1 per passenger vehicle) across Santa Rosa Sound into Pensacola Beach. A trumpet interchange exists between the two routes. East of this junction, U.S. 98 drastically changes in character as it traverses a portion of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. Speed limits briefly increase to 65 mph through this natural area before reducing again amidst suburban sprawl to the east. U.S. 98 has funneled rapid development throughout Santa Rosa Island eastward through to Navarre at Florida 87. It is this growth that catapulted the construction of the Florida Toll 281/Garcon Point Bridge between Garcon Point and Santa Rosa Island. The bridge however, carries a steep $3.00 toll per passenger vehicle, and thus has done little to relieve traffic woes on Florida 87 to the east and U.S. 98's 3-Mile Bridge to the west.
Guide: Florida @ SouthEastRoads - U.S. Highway 98
Business U.S. 98 serves downtown Pensacola via Garden and Gregory Streets to the south of U.S. 98. The highway follows a four lane tree-scaped boulevard through downtown, and is the main thoroughfare through the business and historic districts. The highway also carries the secret designation of Florida 30 as U.S. 98 bypasses downtown to the north.
Guide: Florida @ SouthEastRoads - U.S. Highway 98 Business
Northwest Florida State Highways
There are a crop of state highways in Escambia County, but just a handful in Santa Rosa County. The highways generally fit the route clustering of the Florida 289-298 series, with some exceptions. Instead of listing these here, we shall refer you to the Northwest Florida State Highways, which
chronicles each state highway.
County Highways
In Florida, most county highways were initially signed as State routes. Over time portions and sometimes entire lengths of these routes were turned over to the county due to funding issues. This helps explain the patchwork of state and county routes in not only Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties, but statewide. See our gallery of County highway photos at Northwest Florida County Routes @ SouthEastRoads.com
Miscellaneous Scenes around Pensacola
| 17th Avenue
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17th Avenue departs U.S. 98 (Gregory Street) near the three-mile Pensacola Bay Bridge northbound underneath a narrow railroad bridge. Dubbed the "Graffiti Bridge" by locals, the concrete structure is always tagged with spray paint and symbolism no matter how many times officials repaint it white. Photo taken 05/09/04. |
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Five blocks north of the railroad underpass is the intersection with Cervantes Street. U.S. 90 follows all of Cerventes Street between Scenic Highway to the east and Mobile Highway to the west. A U.S. 90 shield and double arrow sign reside ahead of the 17th Avenue intersection with Cervantes. See the original blue/white shield here. Photo taken 05/09/04. |
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Span-wire supported traffic lights at the 17th Avenue northbound intersection with U.S. 90 (Cervantes Street). When U.S. 98 ended in Pensacola briefly during the 1950s, the federal highway traveled 17th Avenue north from the Pensacola Bay Bridge to Cervantes. For that short time period the intersection with U.S. 90 here composed the western terminus of the U.S. route. Photo taken 05/09/04. |
| Pensacola Regional Airport
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| Westbound Airport Boulevard at Florida 291/Davis Highway. Airport Boulevard is designated as Florida 750 to the east, but carries no route number west of Ninth Avenue/Florida 289. Airport Boulevard was recently widened from two lanes to four from Davis Highway westward to U.S. 29/Pensacola Boulevard. This intersection was also expanded in the latter 1990s. Photo taken 12/20/03.
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| Sign bridges within the grounds of Pensacola Regional Airport for the exit at Florida 750/Airport Boulevard at 12th Avenue. Connections to Bayou Boulevard & Brent Lane facilitate traffic to the northernmost interchange of Interstate 110, just 1.50 miles south of
Interstate 10. A new parking garage facility was constructed at the airport in the late 1990s, drastically increasing capacity. Photos taken 08/21/03.
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| Tarragona Street
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| Tarragona Street northbound at Garden Street (U.S. 98 Business) in downtown Pensacola. Tarragona Street begins at Florida 196 (Main Street) six blocks to the south and intersects Chase Street adjacent to the Interstate 110 northbound on-ramp in one block. Photo taken 06/19/05.
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Page Updated March 15, 2007.
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