City of Palm Coast Announces Feb Start Date for Widening Old Kings Road
Announcement of commencement date indicates the city got positive news from Wal-Mart.
Palm Coast, Florida – January 22, 2009 – Work will begin in Palm Coast, FL on February 9th to expand and reroute Old Kings Road between SR 100 and Old Kings Rd and Town Center Blvd. to four lanes. The announcement by the city culminates years of talk, planning, and negotiations. The city had previously announced that they would not move forward with the project until Wal-Mart committed to close on property adjacent to Old Kings Rd. where a proposed SuperCenter will be built. Apparently, the city has received such assurances from Wal-Mart.
Old Kings Rd will be closed during construction from a point approximately 600 feet north of SR 100 to Town Center Blvd. It’s estimated that construction will last 12 months. During construction, Old Kings Rd traffic will be rerouted through Town Center. Detour information will be provided through the use of variable message boards.
The announced project represents phase one of the Old Kings Rd widening. In the future, phase two will extend the four lane upgrade to Palm Coast Pkwy. The phase one announcement is good news for Palm Coast.
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The contractor is S. E. Cline Construction, Inc., a local company.
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Construction will bring added employment opportunities to the area.
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Completion of phase one will tie into the extension (construction already underway) of Royal Palms Pkwy, opening up a new transportation corridor from Belle Terre to Town Center, Old Kings Rd and SR 100.
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Wal-Mart’s assurances signal a positive trend for the Old Kings Rd corridor. Where Wal-Mart builds, others follow. This will mean more construction and increased future employment opportunities for local residents.
A friend once told me "the sooner you start a project, the longer it will take." Getting the Old Kings Rd project underway has taken years. The delay was the result of complicated negotiations between the city and owners of land adjacent to Old Kings. This is a unique project, financed jointly by the city and the property owners. It necessitated setting up a special taxing district comprised solely of the properties abutting Old Kings. Property owners had to come to agreement on several issues, including a formula for equitable distribution of the tax burden, who would give up land for the expanded right-of-way and for storm water management, etc.
In the end, an agreement was finally reached, allowing the project to go forward. The city would not have been able to undertake the project at this time without the private sector funds committed by land owners.
Thank God!
Even though I take that route to work everyday I am really happy to hear that it is finally going to start.
Other future projects
Will this widening project and the promise of the Super Center for Walmart hopefully not far behind speed up the thinking of the folks who want to build the new multiplex theater in the town center? It would appear that this project would be well supported given the crowds I see at the Ormond Theaters on a regular basis.
As an add on question, how and what is the progress on the Palm Harbor Golf Course?
Thank you,
Rich Brunton
Widening of Old Kings Rd. North
Approx. where will the widening of Old Kings Rd. start. Is it from the Bowling Alley Northwards? Old Kings South of there is already 2 lanes. Are you going to change this area or leave it as is? Please advise. Thank-you.