A public involvement meeting about expanding Alabama State Route 167 (SR-167) will be held Tuesday at the Enterprise Civic Center.
The 60-mile roadway is the major connector between Troy, Ala. and Panama City Beach, Fla. SR-167. The two-lane road for most of its length enters Coffee County from Dale County, passes through Enterprise, and proceeds northerly into Pike County. The route is a heavily traveled by freight traffic also serves as an emergency access route.
“Expanding 167 from two lanes to four lanes will benefit the entire Wiregrass region and the state of Alabama,” Enterprise Mayor William E. Cooper said. “Improving this north/south corridor has the potential to not only improve the FEMA evacuation route, allow our military community to more easily receive and deploy assets, create economic trade opportunities with a robust roadway to get goods where they need to go, and attract visitors from around the country.”
SR-167 is the primary source for north/south transportation of goods and services from Coffee and Geneva Counties in Alabama, as well as Holmes County, Fla. The southern end point of the route is at the Florida state line, where SR-167 transitions to Florida State Road 79 (SR-79). The Florida Department of Transportation has signaled its intent to 4-lane SR-79 from I-10 to the Alabama state line.
Tuesday’s open house-style meeting, which runs from 5-7 p.m. is hosted by the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning and Development Commission (SEARP&DC), will allow the public to review project maps and information. Representatives from SEARP&DC, Sain Associates, and Barge Design Solutions will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the proposal.
“We hope that the citizens of Enterprise will come out to show their support for this expansion,” Cooper said. “It’s important for our community to have their voices heard and communicate how passionate they are about widening this roadway.”
To allow city leaders to attend and show their support for the project, the Enterprise City Council work session will begin at 4 p.m. at the Enterprise Civic Center. The City Council meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Enterprise City Hall.