In a special presentation Monday, the commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing at Hurlburt Field called on Santa Rosa County commissioners to continue efforts to reduce traffic congestion on U.S. 98, because, he says, it’s a threat to their mission.
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Col. Patrick Dierig has been commander of the 1st Special Operations Wing since February of last year, his third assignment on the Emerald Coast dating back to the early 2000s.
Traffic congestion on Highway 98 is the top issue on his list of partnership priorities with Santa Rosa County.
“We’re all aware that is a convenience issue. It's a business challenge. It's a challenge getting kids to and from school,” said Col. Dierig. “But I want to emphasize to this leadership team is this is a “readiness” issue for the 1 SOW.”
And, critically for Hurlburt Field, which is now the third largest base in the Air Force, Dierig said, their alert mission is measured in hours, not days.
“We’ve had some cases where if something bad would have happened in the world during a particular event, I would have called Gen. Conley and said ‘Sir, the mission has failed because of a traffic jam,’” admitted the colonel in reference to his boss, Gen. Michael Conley, commander of the Air Force Special Operations Command.
As examples of what could happen, the colonel pointed to hours-long gridlock caused by recent fatalities and unplanned construction on the roadway that could have thwarted his team’s ability to respond.
“And, I never want to call Gen. Conley and say ‘Sir, uh, we couldn’t go eliminate the target, or we couldn’t save the good person, or we couldn’t launch on time because of the traffic jam on Highway 98.’”
Second on the colonel’s priorities list is affordable housing, another community issue that is exacerbating traffic congestion around the base. He shared maps that showed military personnel and others who work on base traditionally have lived between Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Mary Esther, Navarre, specifically in the Holley By the Sea subdivision, which he said used to be a 20-minute drive on cruise control. But not anymore.
“Our airmen are now living up in Milton. They're living in Jay. They're living in Baker. They're living in Defuniak Springs. They’re living in the northern parts of Pensacola,” Dierig stated. “But, they’re living way up in the northern part of the counties, right now, because it’s the place where they can find affordable housing. When folks are living an hour-plus away, it just adds to the traffic challenges.”
Col. Dierig conceded that with swamp to the north, water to the south, and communities to the east and west, they’re limited in how much housing the government can build on base. Besides, he said it’s not likely.
“I don’t think we want the federal government buying land and buying houses. In my experience, that doesn’t go well. But, if we have affordable houses “close-ish” to base, people will buy them; people will come.”
In his response, Commissioner Rhett Rowell listed factors such as high interest rates and insurance costs that are beyond their control. But, he said the county has been holding the line on property taxes, and its housing inventory is growing.
“Since January, we have had 304 finalized plans go through the permitting process in Santa Rosa County,” Rowell stated. “This board, in districts 2 and 4 — just 2 and 4 — have approved 162. So, that’s 466 since January.”
And, Rowell says they’ve got several thousand pre-assigned subdivision addresses that have been permitted and are ready to be built.
As it relates to the congestion on Highway 98, Col. Dierig acknowledged ongoing efforts to address the issue, including the widening of the roadway and the addition of a Navarre Community Access Road, which is now in the planning, development, and engineering (PD&E) stage. The federal government is doing its part, too.
“We at 1 SOW, we’re going to be revamping the front gate to create more space between Hwy 98 and the guard shack. It’ll be more of an S turn. It’ll pull more traffic off 98,” said Dierig, adding that they’re also looking at options for a western gate for the access road. “If we do get a secondary east-west road north of 98, that way we can tie into a western gate and draw some traffic away from the front gate.”
Specific to the Access Road, the board is expected to grant an extension for completion of the PD&E study by the end of September, with a formal presentation to the board in the following months.
A petition with the signatures of over 1,300 people opposing it was presented later during the committee meeting.
Noting community calls for a bypass, Commissioner Colten Wright cautioned that the road being planned will not serve that function.
“Just so everyone understands, that’s not a bypass highway,” said Wright. “The idea behind that, particularly on the Okaloosa side, which is the first step, is to simply take people in those nearby neighborhoods and allow them to get to a different location on base, rather than have to drive to Hwy 98 to get there or to traverse amongst neighborhoods. So it’s just an alternate, not a bypass.”
When it comes to securing federal funding for transportation projects, Board Chairman Kerry Smith pointed to the coincidental committee assignment for the region’s newly elected U.S. Representative.
“Congressman Patronis, AKA Jimmy, is on Highways (Transportation) and Infrastructure, which is traditionally not the best position for this area; we’ve always been on military committees,” said Smith. “But it’s fortuitous and it’s a Godsend, basically. And, in some of the situations that we have moving forward, I think all of the pieces of the puzzle are there. It’s up to us to really see this through.”
As a follow-up, the county is planning to set up a public workshop with Col. Dierig and his leadership team from Hurlburt Field to work on solutions for his priority issues, including affordable housing, access to child care and mental health resources, and the top issue of traffic congestion on U.S. 98.
“The only wrong answer is to do nothing. The problem is only getting worse,” declared the colonel. “We have to do something, and it may be ten years from now when some of these roads are done, but we have to start doing something now. So I would welcome this, sir, and I’m grateful, thank you.”
