Florida State Road 293

State Road 293
State Road 293
Danny Wuerffel Way / Mid-Bay Bridge / Walter Francis Spence Parkway
Route information
	Maintained by FDOT
Length	15.4 mi (24.8 km)
Existed	June 1993–present
Major junctions
South end	US 98 in Destin
North end	SR 85 in Niceville
Location
Country	United States
State	Florida
Counties	Okaloosa
Highway system
	Florida State Highway System; Interstate; US; State Former; Pre‑1945; ; Toll; Scenic;

State Road 293 (SR 293) is a 15.4 miles (24.8 km) limited-access tollway, extending from U.S. Route 98 in Destin, north across the Mid-Bay Bridge, a toll bridge, around Niceville to State Road 85. Initially ending at Florida State Road 20 west of where they intersect today, SR 293 has served as a very important bypass to the Niceville community, and as a hurricane evacuation route. From the Mid-Bay Bridge and to points north, the roadway is known as the Walter Francis Spence Parkway.

Route description

State Road 293 begins at the intersection with Hutchinson Street and US 98 in Destin near many Shopping Centers. SR 293 continues north from here as a 4-laned arterial surface road, named Danny Wuerffel Way, with a Speed Limit of 45 MPH. SR 293 turns slightly east as it passes by Turnberry Harbor and Destin Middle School. It then crosses the 3.6 mile long Mid-Bay Bridge over Choctawhatchee Bay, where at the northern end of the bridge, tolls are collected ($4.00 Cash, $3.00 SunPass^[2]). From here, SR 293 continues north, developing the name of the Walter Francis Spence Parkway as it sharply turns northeast at the Lakeshore Drive Interchange. From this point north, the Speed Limit increases to 55 MPH. It extends for another two miles as a 4-lane divided limited access parkway, traveling northward around the Bluewater Bay community and intersects Florida State Road 20 with a Single point urban interchange. SR 293 has an interchange with Range Road, and continues north as a Super Two, while retaining a Speed Limit of 55 MPH. Still heading north, it crosses the Rocky Creek Bridge. It then passes the second tolling point: the electronic toll gantry ($2.00 Toll by plate / $1.50 SunPass). SR 293 then passes a turnaround serving future access to the Deer Moss Creek subdivision. It then turns to a direction of West-by-Northwest and intersects with Forest Road and Florida State Road 285, before continuing west, crossing bridges over Swift Creek, Fox Head Branch, and Mill Creek to terminate at Florida State Road 85 at a Trumpet Interchange.^[3]

History

The State Road was established in June 1993 when the Mid-Bay Bridge was opened. Originally, the northern terminus of the road was at the toll plaza at the northern end of the bridge. The northern approached was accessed via White Point Road. In 2011, the road was opened to SR 20.

State Road 293 was extended around the Niceville area in 3 stages, starting with an extension north to Range Road, completed in 2011^{[citation needed]}. It was followed by extensions to SR 285, then SR 85 both completed in January 2014.^{[citation needed]}. Proposals have been made to extend SR 293 to Florida State Road 123 and reconnect with US Route 98 and extend west to Florida State Road 87^[4].

Summertime Traffic Concerns

The high demand for the Mid-bay bridge has caused many backups on SR 293 in both directions due to the high amount of cash users and the lower speed limit in the SunPass lane. Mostly throughout Florida, the speed limit in the SunPass lanes are 25 MPH, whereas this one is 15 MPH. People have attempted to use local roadways as alternative routes, but the demand was too high for them. As a fix to this, the Southbound Entrance ramp from Lakeshore Drive would be closed on select afternoons from 12-6 PM. Also, Variable-message signs were placed North of Florida State Road 20 in the Summer of 2017 to tell drivers that the exits provide local access only and are not to be used as detours.^[5]

Toll-by-plate Controversy

When the roadway first opened, the electronic tolling point east of Niceville was adequately marked, and vacationers without a SunPass were confusing it with a error in the toll payment on the Mid-Bay Bridge. Many were receiving bills in the mail, along with a $2.50 administrative charge. Changes were not made to the signage until 2016.^[6]

Major intersections

The entire route is in Okaloosa County.

Location	mi^[7]	km	Destinations	Notes
Destin	0.000	0.000	US 98 (SR 30) – Panama City, Destin, Okaloosa Island, Henderson Beach State Park	Continuation as Hutchinson Street
Destin	0.982	1.580	Legendary Marina Drive	Transition from Danny Wuerffel Way to Walter Francis Spence Parkway
Choctawhatchee Bay	0.982– 4.631	1.580– 7.453	Mid-Bay Bridge
	4.75^[1]	7.64	toll plaza: $4.00 Cash / $3.00 SunPass
	4.87	7.84	Maxwell Gunter Recreation Area	Authorized Personnel Only
	5.43	8.74	Lakeshore Drive - Maxwell Gunter Recreation Area	Interchange: Southbound Entrance Ramp closed during Peak Tourist Season hours
	6.28	10.11	SR 20 to I-10 – Niceville, Freeport	Single Point Urban Interchange
	7.53^[1]	12.12	Range Road	Interchange
	9.8^[1]	15.8	toll gantry: $2.00 TOLL-BY-PLATE / $1.50 SunPass: No Cash Accepted
	10.0	16.1	Deer Moss Creek East Entrance	Future At Grade Intersection (Under Construction)
	12.0^[1]	19.3	Forest Road to E College Blvd	At Grade Intersection
	12.9^[1]	20.8	SR 285 to I-10 – Niceville, Mossy Head, Northwest Florida State College	Interchange
Niceville	15.4^[1]	24.8	SR 85 to I-10 – Fort Walton Beach, Valparaiso, Crestview, VPS Airport	Trumpet Interchange
			SR 123 – Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, VPS Airport	Proposed Interchange (Unfunded)^[4]
Hurlburt Field			US 98 (SR 30) – Navarre, Fort Walton Beach, Hurlburt Field	Proposed Connection (Unfunded)^[4]
Navarre			SR 87 to I-10 – Navarre, Milton, Gulf Breeze Zoo	Proposed Interchange (Unfunded)^[4]
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Electronic toll collection Incomplete access Tolled Route transition Unopened