West Palm Beach’s litigation prompts state to withdraw $80 million scheduled to be spent in 2023 to build connector between Okeechobee Boulevard and Northlake.
The state had $80 million on hand to begin construction next year of State Road 7 from Okeechobee to Northlake boulevards.
But on Thursday, state officials will slam the brakes on the controversial project by formally asking local officials to sign off on a shocking twist: Delay it at least five years.
Continue reading “Long-awaited State Road 7 project will wait five years longer”At stake: Who controls money developers pay for road improvements, Palm Beach Gardens or Palm Beach County?
An appellate court has rejected Palm Beach Gardens’ arguments in its fight with Palm Beach County over how to pay for growth from new development.
The ruling forces the city to resume collecting impact fees from developers for the county, which decides how to spend the money.
It imperils the city’s new mobility fee program, which was designed to collect money from developers for projects determined by the city.
Continue reading “Appellate ruling favors county over Gardens on road-building“Just seven viable candidates apply for $200,000-a-year job after national search.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On Thursday July 21, the full board of the Transportation Planning Agency voted unanimously to hire Valerie Neilson as executive director. Commissioner Maria Marino was absent.
It’s not often that a public-sector job paying nearly $200,000 attracts just seven viable candidates after a national search. It’s even rarer that two of the three finalists are dismissed outright after vigorous, public questioning.
But that’s where the five-member panel selecting the next person to head the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency, which oversees billions in transportation projects countywide, found itself Thursday afternoon.
The panel, featuring two north county representatives — Palm Beach Gardens Mayor Chelsea Reed and Palm Beach County Commissioner Maria Marino — waffled between selecting the agency’s interim director, who almost got the job in December without a search, or leaving the agency in limbo for months by reposting the job.
Continue reading “Transportation panel picks interim director, rips ‘tortured’ selection process as ‘debacle’”Residents fear nearly complete design at Northlake-Beeline intersection could become a chokepoint to The Acreage, Avenir, other western communities.
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U-turns and a newfangled left-turn lane at the Northlake-Beeline intersection will do a better job of moving traffic smoothly and safely than a flyover, FDOT officials said Wednesday during a community Zoom meeting.
Not everyone at the meeting was convinced.
Continue reading “No flyover? No problem. FDOT says U-turn solution better”With flyover out, planners propose ways to avoid left turns at critical western intersection.
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Years after local politicians scrapped plans for a Northlake Boulevard flyover at the Beeline Highway, the state has called for U-turns and an unusual lane configuration to smooth traffic flow at the major western intersection.
With construction expected to start in summer, the biggest change is how cars would turn without gumming up the intersection that funnels traffic in and out of The Acreage and nearby communities and handles truck traffic feeding the Port of Palm Beach.
Continue reading “State plans U-turns, crossover lane at Beeline-Northlake”A $7.2 million infusion from the American Rescue Plan moves up construction at PGA Boulevard and Interstate 95 by two years.
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The daily traffic snarl on PGA Boulevard at Interstate 95 took a significant step toward easing Thursday with the act of a local transportation planning agency.
State plans to improve traffic flow on the perpetually stalled southbound I-95 entrance ramp moved up two years with an infusion of $7.2 million from the American Rescue Plan approved by Congress in March.
Continue reading “Fix for PGA flyover logjam on fast track”Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency Executive Director Nick Uhren resigns but won’t say why; board considers hiring former deputy Valerie Neilson.
As the federal government unleashes billions for transportation, the head of the countywide agency charged with prioritizing how all that money is spent has resigned.
Nick Uhren’s decision to quit the Palm Beach Transportation Planning Agency after eight years left the agency’s 21-member board scrambling Thursday to find a replacement for the $200,000-a-year job.
Continue reading “Who’s in charge? Resignation leaves transportation agency adrift”
