Next week, trucks from Panhandle Grading and Paving will begin transporting dirt from the Pensacola International Airport to the Port of Pensacola. The dirt is being excavated from the airport’s existing stormwater pit, where a regional stormwater management facility is being constructed.
The stormwater project is being funded by a $2.7 million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation, which Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward announced last year. The new facility will serve a drainage basin spanning 2,458 acres across the jurisdictions of the City of Pensacola, Escambia County and the Florida Department of Transportation. Additionally, the facility will eliminated the need for several smaller stormwater ponds on airport property, freeing up land for potential future development.
In order to maximize efficiency, the dirt excavated from the Airport project is being moved to the Port to be used as fill to bring the former Halcorp site to grade, so that it may also be redeveloped. Once dirt arrives at the Port, it will be staged for re-use immediately.
The project will involve “trains” of up to twelve trucks making approximately ten trips per day for a period of 30-45 days. The trucks will be utilizing the designated Port truck route, which accesses the Port via I-110, Chase Street, and Bayfront Parkway, and will return to I-110 via 9th Avenue.