State Road 123 (SR 123) is a north–south state highway that bypasses the stretch of State Road 85 through Niceville, Florida. The highway is a more direct route to Fort Walton Beach from points north. With flyover ramps at both intersections of SR 85 now completed, the highway has been widened into a 4-lane divided highway.
 State Road 123 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Florida State Road 123 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by FDOT | ||||
| Length | 5.175 mi[1] (8.328 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  SR 85 near Niceville | |||
| North end | SR 85 in Eglin AFB | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | Florida | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
Route description
editSR 123 begins at an intersection with SR 85 north of Northwest Florida Regional Airport to the southwest of Niceville in Okaloosa County, heading north-northeast on two-lane undivided Roger J. Clary Highway. The road passes through forested areas on the grounds of Eglin Air Force Base, bypassing Niceville to the west. SR 123 reaches its northern terminus at another intersection with SR 85 northwest of Niceville.[2][3]
History
editConstruction work on the $25.6 million State Road (S.R.) 85/123 flyover project in Okaloosa County is complete. The main feature of the project is a new flyover ramp that seamlessly connects S.R. 85 northbound to S.R. 123 northbound. The project also includes widening S.R. 85 to six lanes between General Bond Boulevard and the Northwest Florida Regional Airport. In addition, the travel lanes adjacent to the airport have been elevated to create a safer and more efficient airport entrance. More than 30,000 drivers travel State Roads 85 and 123 each day between Fort Walton Beach and the suburbs of Niceville, Valparaiso and Crestview, and northern Okaloosa County. The roads, and their connection to Interstate 10, form an important economic development corridor that supports the tourism industry, Eglin AFB and the Northwest Florida Regional Airport. In addition, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is currently designing a similar flyover ramp to better connect S.R. 123 northbound to S.R. 85 just south of Crestview. Work on that project is slated to begin in 2014. Work on the current S.R. 85/123 flyover project began in 2009. Anderson Columbia, Co., Inc. served as the construction contractor, with Greenhorne & O’Mara, Inc. providing construction engineering and inspection services for FDOT. [4]
Major intersections
editThe entire route is in Eglin AFB, Okaloosa County.
| mi[1] | km | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.000 | 0.000 |  SR 85 – Fort Walton Beach, Valparaiso, Niceville, Eglin AFB, Northwest Florida Regional Airport | interchange | ||
| 5.175 | 8.328 |   SR 85 to I-10 – Crestview, Niceville | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
References
edit- ^ a b FDOT straight line diagrams Archived March 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine, accessed March 2014
- ^ "Straight-Line Diagrams". Florida Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2012.
- ^ "overview of State Road 123" (Map). Google Maps. Retrieved September 5, 2012.
- ^ http://www.nwflroads.com/images/2013/01/SR-85-123-ProjectConcludes-is-edits.pdf/[permanent dead link]