The Escambia County Commission voted at its March 26 meeting to allocate $492,212 from the Local Option Sales Tax fund to extend and improve the multi-use path system on Pensacola Beach, beginning construction on a new pedestrian and cycling corridor that separates foot and bike traffic from the main vehicle lanes on the beach's primary approach road.
\n\nThe project runs in two phases. Phase 1 constructs a new path from Via de Luna north along the west side of Pensacola Beach Boulevard to the Elk's Lodge area, including a sidewalk and ADA improvements at the traffic signal near the start of the corridor. Work is expected to begin in mid-April and complete within 90 days, weather permitting. Phase 2 extends the path from the Elk's Lodge north to the new toll gantry but does not begin until the Pensacola Beach Gateway Improvement Project, which started construction in January 2026 and replaces the Bob Sikes Toll Plaza with a modern overhead toll-by-plate system at a cost of $6.5 million, is complete. That project is expected to finish by summer 2026.
\n\nCommissioner Ashlee Hofberger, whose District 4 includes Pensacola Beach, described the path project as part of an ongoing effort to give pedestrians and cyclists a safe, separated route along a corridor that currently forces them to share space with vehicle traffic at one of the beach's highest-volume approaches.
\n\nA traffic congestion management study expected to complete by end of summer will inform the next phase of path planning for the beach. The Bob Sikes Bridge carries roughly 14,000 vehicles per day at peak season, and the entrance corridor has been a persistent gap in beach pedestrian infrastructure. This project begins to address it in a meaningful, practical way.
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