For whom does the bridge toll?

According to the last inspection of the Navarre Beach Bridge, which is county owned, the condition of the bridge is listed as ‘fair’ with somewhat better than minimum adequacy to tolerate being left in place as is. The deck geometry is basically intolerable requiring a high priority of corrective action.

The deck and superstructure are in fair condition which means it is structurally sound, but may have minor sections of loss, cracking, spalling or scour (erosion of sand around the bridge foundation by moving water).

This inspection was in 2024. But we know it didn’t get that way in 2024 – this is something that has been known and talked about for years. While we praise Commissioner Ray Eddington for taking bridge replacement head on, as commissioners for years before him have kicked the proverbial can down the road. But we call a time out on what the intended use of the proposed tolls are.

In the bank right now, the county has $1.5 million for a Planning, Design and Engineering study for a new bridge. It is the first requirement that must be complete before moving even an inch further to replace the bridge. If it started today, the PD&E study would take at least 18-24 months to complete.

The county wants to take the $1.5 million set aside and use it to put in a toll system for the bridge. We are fine with that. Building a bridge is expensive and if we want to have skin in the game, so to speak, to receive grant funding from the state – well then, we should toll the bridge.

But at Monday’s county commission meeting we heard something we haven’t heard before. When we asked the question about the toll funds and what they will pay for, we were told it would be to provide matching funds for grants and such to construct the bridge. Today, we heard the tolls will be used for maintenance of the bridge.

That is a little concerning. Please name another county-owned bridge or road that is tolled for the maintenance of said road or bridge. The correct answer is there isn’t one. The only commissioner who spoke up on that was Rhett Rowell who said something along the lines of – since we don’t operate that way for other bridges and roads, I don’t think it is fair to toll this bridge for maintenance. They want to make this bridge pay its own way (and by bridge, I mean locals who work on the island, local Realtors and locals going to the beach). Get the drift?

The tolls from this bridge should pay for the PD&E study and the matching funds needed to build the bridge.

Pier operator and Windjammer’s co-owner, Tamara Fountain, addressed the commissioners from the podium, “If we are going to toll the bridge, I want to make sure I understood that we are not going to use any of that funding for maintenance of the bridge, because we don’t toll any other bridge in the county for maintenance. We have been told we have to come up with matching grants and that money should be put in a segregated fund and allowed to grow. We don’t need to use if for other purposes.”

Commissioner Kerry Smith said one of the primary reasons he wanted to approve this is fund repairs. “Its certainly not going to buy a new bridge. We have already spent $8 million in repairs and are looking at another $3 million.”

Eddington said we have to put the tolls toward the repairs.

We understand the cost of repairs; however, the county has repaired bridges and roads in the past to the tune of several million dollars – they didn’t toll any of them. We just want it to be fair. Is there a reason why Navarre is expected to pay their own way?