Funding for design of I-95 interchange in Boca due in July

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

The new I-95 interchange planned for Boca Raton has moved from the slow lane to the fast track.

That means city officials have less than two months to select from two suggested designs for the road.

Mayor Susan Whelchel told the Boca Raton News the matter came up during last week’s two-day goal-setting sessions attended by the mayor, City Council, city manager’s staff and department heads.

The Florida Department of Transportation notified the city, she said, that funding for the design phase of the project will be available in July.

On the table are plans for a “full-blown” interchange – one that will have exits and entrances on Spanish River Boulevard.  The other is a crossroad that would serve Florida Atlantic University, giving students a direct way in and out – with the intention of alleviating heavy traffic on Glades Road.

While the City Council has yet to decide which design to pick, Whelchel said she’s got a good idea which it will be.  “It’s the design that gets the money.”

She referred to federal dollars to help build the interchange.  If traffic is directed on and off at Spanish River Boulevard, a public street, the federal government will fund the project.  If the interchange becomes an FAU-only project, Uncle Sam won’t fund it.

Whelchel said the city hasn’t discussed the matter yet with officials from FAU, but she figures the university will opt for the design that will bring federal cash.

After getting the news at the goal-setting session, Whelchel said she is canceling a proposed trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with the city’s congressional delegation to find out what’s happening with the road.  She can have that meeting later, she said.

While the proposed interchange has the advantage of federal dollars backing it, there is a drawback.  Spanish River Boulevard residents may not be pleased with the additional traffic passing through the neighborhood.

Whelchel said all the options will be discussed, but with haste because of the impending timetable.

In the meantime, the council and other officials spent the better part of Thursday and Friday in meetings to discuss goals for the coming year.  Normally, City Manager Leif Ahnell takes his direction for preparation of the coming year’s budget.

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