TRANSCRIPT 🔗
1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,720
You've tuned into another edition of the Break Room, a weekly conversation about
2
00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:08,240
how the City of St. Augustine works from those who do the work every day.
3
00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:12,400
Hosted by the City of St. Augustine's Communications Director, Melissa Wissel,
4
00:00:12,400 --> 00:00:16,240
the Break Room offers a closer look at the different city departments and provides
5
00:00:16,240 --> 00:00:21,360
updates on current and upcoming projects and events. And now, your host, Melissa Wissel.
6
00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:26,240
Welcome to the Break Room, thanks for tuning in. We are shifting gears a bit and changing lanes
7
00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:31,040
this week, so buckle up with the King Street Bridge project nearing completion, the Avenida
8
00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:36,560
Menendez Seawall project underway, and while quite honestly a lot of ongoing FDOT activity,
9
00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:41,440
I thought it was time to bring in the subject matter experts from the Florida Department of
10
00:00:41,440 --> 00:00:46,720
Transportation, so without any further ado, please welcome to the Break Room, Florida Department
11
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:51,440
of Transportation Community Outreach Specialist and my friend, Jacob Pickering.
12
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:57,360
Oh, thank you so much, Melissa, for having me. This is a pleasure. You and I have been swapping emails
13
00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:05,760
for years. Yes, we have. We've met in person a few times, but we both specialize in messaging.
14
00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:10,240
That's right. Public information, community outreach, that's the bread and butter here that
15
00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:16,800
we do both deal in. And you're great for FDOT. Your name is on the bottom of a lot of press releases.
16
00:01:18,080 --> 00:01:24,880
I'm sure your phone number is very widely distributed as is mine. Let's talk a little bit about that,
17
00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:31,680
though. I want to take this opportunity to really give our listeners a bit of it. What I was
18
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:37,040
you and I were calling F-D-O-T 101. I would like our listeners to understand that,
19
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:44,480
you know, when you see the road closure that didn't just happen overnight, it's been a long time
20
00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:50,000
coming. So, give me the rewind us back a little bit and give us a little bit of FDOT 101.
21
00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:54,160
Of course, I'd love to do that. You know, the Florida Department of Transportation, F-D-O-T,
22
00:01:54,160 --> 00:02:01,360
I mean, we have a lot of hands and a lot of things, you know, from helping with our local programs
23
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:06,160
department. I mean, there are so many smaller departments, local programs, right of way,
24
00:02:06,160 --> 00:02:13,680
all kinds of, all kinds, I mean, I could go on. But what I want to mention really is, you know,
25
00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:20,320
what F-D-O-T does every day is really for the people. I mean, we work to keep our, you know, our mission
26
00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:26,880
is really just to keep the goods in Florida moving and keep and keep everybody moving and keep it safe,
27
00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:31,520
you know, safety is the number one priority. But really, as far as F-D-O-T goes, the things that we do
28
00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:38,640
every day are really community-based. What I've, what I do in my position as I hear, I listen a lot.
29
00:02:38,640 --> 00:02:43,920
A lot of what I do is I listen to the people, I listen to the drivers, the walkers, the pedestrians,
30
00:02:43,920 --> 00:02:47,920
bicyclists. I take a lot of listening in and then I'm able to
31
00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:56,960
reach the F-D-O-T engineers directly, you know, you know, I'm embedded right there in the F-D-O-T
32
00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:01,680
offices in the state offices in Jacksonville. Our headquarters are in Lake City. So, a
33
00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:08,880
little F-D-O-T 101, there are seven districts in the state. So, as well as, so we call ourselves,
34
00:03:08,880 --> 00:03:12,880
you know, D1, D2 and we have these statewide meetings where we're coming in. And we're four?
35
00:03:12,880 --> 00:03:22,480
Northeast Florida is District 2. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, so we're District 2, so we love District 2,
36
00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:27,120
you know, we are really proud of the work that we get to do in this district, you know, we'd like
37
00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:32,560
to be the example for other districts in the state, you know, our community outreach especially has
38
00:03:32,560 --> 00:03:38,560
really involved here. We have a team of about 10 or 12 people on the public information office
39
00:03:38,560 --> 00:03:44,160
team right now. And, you know, we have folks in Lake City, we have folks in Jacksonville, and, you know,
40
00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:48,400
I'm down here in St. Augustine a lot, I love working in St. Augustine. I mean, St. Augustine has
41
00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:54,720
some of the most unique projects, but as you'll see, you know, F-D-O-T, the thing about it is we have
42
00:03:54,720 --> 00:04:01,360
a five-year work program. So that is really the big document that everybody can, anybody can research
43
00:04:01,360 --> 00:04:07,440
online and I go back to it so often in my messaging where people will ask me, hey, you know, this road
44
00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:12,800
is looking pretty, pretty, like it needs a, needs an update. And I was like, hmm, let's see if anybody's
45
00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:17,680
thought of that before I've heard it, you know what I mean? So I go to the work program and a lot of
46
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:25,600
the times, you'll see that, you know, the list of priority projects, okay, let me, okay, so this is a,
47
00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:31,680
let me, let me start with just saying the five years is kind of what it takes to build a project,
48
Load full transcript
00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:38,400
right? So going back, think about, how about this one? Let me throw one at you. What about our,
49
00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:46,480
this, and this maybe, what about the, the peanut at May Street? Sure. Is that a good one? Or even our
50
00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:51,760
even the one at the base of Bridge of Lions? Like let's think of one of our local projects. Or even the
51
00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:58,000
pedestrian crosswalks out on A1A at the Amp. Yeah. We could talk about that. Oh, I would love to talk
52
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,880
about that one. Yes. So that might be, that might really resonate with our listener. Oh, yes. Yeah, I
53
00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:07,920
know I've gotten a lot of, a lot of talk, a lot of excitement about this new pedestrian hybrid beacon
54
00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:14,320
crosswalk that FDOT is going to build at Madeira Drive on A1A, which is right in front of the St Augustine
55
00:05:14,320 --> 00:05:22,080
amp, the amp. Is that a five year? That fall into that? Interestingly, that project is what we call a
56
00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:28,480
push button project. So a, so a safety push button project actually gets built using safety
57
00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:34,560
dollars that are not part of the work program funding. Okay. So the work program funding comes all
58
00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:40,240
from state taxpayer dollars as well as as well as the, but also from federal grants as well. So
59
00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:47,280
we use, we use the money allotted to basically fund our work program. And then we have extra safety
60
00:05:47,280 --> 00:05:53,200
dollars that can be put towards things like events or, or we have extra money for things like push
61
00:05:53,200 --> 00:06:01,600
button contracts where FDOT basically will see a need for a safety improvement and be able to a lot
62
00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:07,280
dollars and a lot of contracting and everything like that to actually make our own separate contract
63
00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:13,120
from the work program and start something new. Is it, is it have to be something urgent? I mean,
64
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:17,440
when you say push button that kind of needs to, makes me think of someone in a room going, okay,
65
00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:22,160
this one really needs to, I need to push the button on this one. You know, that's, it's a, it's a great
66
00:06:22,160 --> 00:06:26,000
way to look at it because it kind of is that way. I wouldn't necessarily put the word urgent, but I
67
00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:31,200
would, I would put the word, quicker than, quicker than our work, usual work program, right? So
68
00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:37,360
there are, so that is, so that's something great, you know, as far as the PHBs, we are building so many
69
00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:44,000
crosswalk improvements across district two. I mean, as far away as Hawthorne, it over in Putnam County
70
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:50,800
and in, in Clay, US 301, I mean, all kind of, Alachua, there are so many counties that were building
71
00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:56,160
multiple pedestrian hybrid beacons, but for St. John's County, we have already installed
72
00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,320
at least four or five in the past two years as part of a push button contract. So
73
00:07:00,320 --> 00:07:05,600
Madeira is just another one that, that, that we're including on that list. We've already installed
74
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:12,560
pedestrian hybrid beacon crosswalks at Fort Mantanza's Park on A1A, Green Road, which is South
75
00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:19,040
of St. Augustine, Treasure Beach Road, and Nice Beach Front Park in Vilano Beach and Euclid Avenue
76
00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:23,520
in Vilano Beach. So that's five. We've already built and now Madeira will be another one that we're
77
00:07:23,520 --> 00:07:30,240
adding on to as a separate push button contract. Yes, yes. So, so the amp directly after
78
00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:34,960
this holiday season, so basically directly after the New Year's, we're going to begin
79
00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:40,160
construction on the pedestrian hybrid beacon at the amp. So, we're really looking forward to
80
00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:44,400
getting down there. We've, there was a little bit of a delay because there was a lot of utility work
81
00:07:44,400 --> 00:07:49,040
that we had to be, incorporate with, of course, the county, St. John's County Utilities.
82
00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:54,640
We had to relocate a couple of utilities out there before we could actually safely build it,
83
00:07:55,440 --> 00:08:00,240
right where we want to build it, where it's where it's needed. So, that was a reason for the delay,
84
00:08:00,240 --> 00:08:04,640
but we're really excited to finally get started on that crosswalk right after the holidays.
85
00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,640
Okay, the right of ways is a deal. I'm going to do a quick identification if you're just now
86
00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,560
tuning in. You're listening to the Break Room. I'm Melissa Wissel, communications director for
87
00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:18,080
the city, and I have Jacob Pickering in studio. He is the community outreach specialist for FDOT.
88
00:08:18,080 --> 00:08:25,760
If you're just now tuning in, you are getting a FDOT 101 lesson. And we've got a few minutes left.
89
00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:32,720
We were talking about pedestrian hybrid beacons, which is one is going in at the amp.
90
00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:40,480
We've got one downtown, which may also have a facelift. You were mentioning, but before we check
91
00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:45,680
out of this episode, and clearly we're going to have to have you come back. Let's talk what's really
92
00:08:45,680 --> 00:08:52,960
on people's minds, the King Street Bridge. Let's get that one out. We've got about four or five minutes
93
00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:59,120
left. So, let's talk about King Street Bridge. It was supposed to be a redo. Now it's a
modification
94
00:08:59,120 --> 00:09:05,040
and a repair. Give us a little bit of that history. How's it been going? Can you give us a drum roll and
95
00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,920
give us a closer window when we can expect to make that turn and come into downtown? Of course.
96
00:09:09,920 --> 00:09:14,960
Yes. So, the King Street Bridge, we call it the King Street Bridge rehabilitation project.
97
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:19,840
So, we've had some public hearings back in the day about completely replacing the bridge.
98
00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:27,040
Since we've put that out, we've really tried to make the community impact as minimal as possible.
99
00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:34,160
In that turn, we've now decided to rehabilitate the bridge. The bridge has undergone over the summer,
100
00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:40,320
major rehabilitation work, concrete structural repair underneath the bridge, as well as lighting
101
00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:45,840
improvements, things on the surface of the bridge as well, but a lot of it took place underneath.
102
00:09:45,840 --> 00:09:52,320
A lot of old concrete, old metal that had to be basically rebuilt and restructured all underneath
103
00:09:52,320 --> 00:10:00,240
the bridge. But the good news is, we have had the detour going, but the good news is that the bridge
104
00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:06,560
is on track and we have met our goal of opening it in early November. So, it'll be 100%
105
00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:11,200
and before nights of lights. So, we're really excited. We've actually met our goal. We promised
106
00:10:11,200 --> 00:10:17,920
we were going to rehabilitate it and open it before nights of lights begins. We're really close.
107
00:10:17,920 --> 00:10:23,440
Well, I know that I've been told we're going to reopen it in early November. So, hopefully in the first
108
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:27,840
couple of weeks in November, but definitely before the 21st. So, that's a really good news.
109
00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:35,920
Motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, you'll all be able to hit that bridge again and get an
110
00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:40,080
easy over from the dorms over to the winery, you know, in back and things like that.
111
00:10:40,080 --> 00:10:47,760
But they've done changes to the, I would call it a jersey barrier, but basically the wall of,
112
00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,240
puts those pedestrians, well, actually there wasn't a wall if I think about it. You were just on a
113
00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:59,600
bare sidewalk. So, will we see a lot of change on the surface aesthetically or is it pretty much just
114
00:10:59,600 --> 00:11:04,720
underneath? There will be some minor changes to the bridge aesthetically on the top.
115
00:11:04,720 --> 00:11:11,120
100% new pavement markings and also will have sharrows on the bridge itself, which is shared use
116
00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:16,560
lane markings. That basically tells drivers that motorists are allowed to use the whole lane as well.
117
00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:21,680
So, we will have the sharrows on the bridge, new pavement markings. And yes, the sidewalk,
118
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:26,800
to my understanding, will be a little bit wider than it was. We've been able to sort of extend it,
119
00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:32,240
but it won't be too drastically different than what you're used to. It'll still have the two lanes
120
00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:37,680
westbound, the one lane eastbound, but it will all be brand new pavement markings. And folks can
121
00:11:37,680 --> 00:11:41,920
drive over it knowing that the bridge will be sturdy for multiple years to come.
122
00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:48,240
The, no, we're not going to have any ribbon cuttings. No. We're just going to wake up one day,
123
00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:53,440
and I'm going to be able to turn down King Street to go downtown. That's right. Yeah, yeah.
124
00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:58,960
I'll try to do my best to get the word out before it happens, but what I like to do is,
125
00:11:58,960 --> 00:12:07,120
life needs a surprise every now and then. If I can just give you a nice surprise, I'll do it.
126
00:12:07,120 --> 00:12:11,520
But also, I'll write a press release. I'll make a social post. I'll see what we,
127
00:12:11,520 --> 00:12:17,120
but sometimes when they tell me they're going to open something, and then I put a press release out,
128
00:12:17,120 --> 00:12:22,160
I'm sure you've been through this. And then I kind of jump the gun because something happens.
129
00:12:22,160 --> 00:12:26,720
And then they're like, oh, it's going to be 14 hours later. And I'm like, okay, do I make the
130
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:32,640
decision? Do I make a whole new press release or do I modify it or do I just kind of let it ride?
131
00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:36,240
And a lot of the times I find it better just to let life have a little bit of surprise every now and
132
00:12:36,240 --> 00:12:42,240
then. So you and I will get together when we know this is happening. Oh, yes. And you write the
133
00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:48,000
release. And then I take your release and I don't, I don't, I don't resource, I don't create
134
00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,600
original content when it comes to FDOT projects. I'm just going to put that out there.
135
00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:58,720
Give me a quick update too as well. What is this going to look like on Malaga? Because those of us
136
00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:04,320
that take that detour every day are accustomed to coming up Malaga now and taking a left on the US 1.
137
00:13:04,320 --> 00:13:10,240
Right. Exactly. So that is a temporary traffic configuration we built for the detour. And that
138
00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:17,440
temporary traffic configuration will come down. So on Malaga, it will return to its condition pre
139
00:13:17,440 --> 00:13:22,960
construction. So after the bridge reopens in early November, you're going to see some occasional
140
00:13:22,960 --> 00:13:28,160
nighttime lane closures at the intersection of Malaga and US one as basically we take down the
141
00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:34,320
temporary traffic signal we built and we're going to just have it back to its original form formation
142
00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,960
which is folks on Malaga heading northbound will only be able to take a right turn onto US 1
143
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:44,480
northbound again. And once the bridge is reopened. So we're going to return that intersection back.
144
00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:49,680
So we won't be completely finished with the project. After we open the bridge, we still have some
145
00:13:49,680 --> 00:13:54,320
work to do to get that temporary traffic detour down. So we appreciate everybody's patience as we
146
00:13:54,320 --> 00:13:59,520
work to get that done and back to normal out here. Back to normal. That's right. Whatever that looked like.
147
00:13:59,520 --> 00:14:05,840
Well, believe it or not. And I told you this when we started, we would run out of time.
148
00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:10,480
We have not talked about Avenida Menendez. We haven't even done really a recap of some of our
149
00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:16,240
other big projects. So I'm going to ask you to come back. I would love to. And we'll give our listeners
150
00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:22,400
a refresh on FDOT 101 and recap some of those other fantastic projects. That sounds great. Thank you
151
00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:26,400
for having me so far. Thanks for coming, Jacob. If you missed part of this broadcast, I want to go
152
00:14:26,400 --> 00:14:30,800
back and listen from the beginning. You can find it on your favorite podcasting app for complete
153
00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:37,840
listing of our podcast platforms this episode and past episodes visit citystaugradio.com. We want
154
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,840
to keep you informed about what's happening in and around the city and that you hear it here from
155
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:47,280
the people who do the work to make it happen every day. Follow us on social. You'll see us on Facebook,
156
00:14:47,280 --> 00:14:52,960
Instagram and X @CityStAug until next time. Thanks for tuning in. You've been listening to the
157
00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:58,240
Break Room, a weekly program addressing projects and programs offered by the city of St. Augustine.
158
00:14:58,240 --> 00:15:03,680
Join us each week as the city's communications director Melissa Wissel has in-depth conversations
159
00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:08,480
with the people who make our town work to meet the needs of our community. See you at this time next week
160
00:15:08,480 --> 00:15:12,640
for another edition of the break room.