- December 24, 2024
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PALM COAST — Motorists coming and going from the area will soon see a facelift to one of the community’s major gateways.
The city, county and the Florida Department of Transportation are working together to transform the four detention ponds in the area into wet ponds. The city will then add four fountains to keep the area in line with what people see when they get off the highway at Palm Coast Parkway.
The city has $60,000 for parkway beautification within its streets improvements fund for the fountains. That includes electrical and permit costs, too.
The state will pay for the pond work, city officials said.
When the state completed the interchange improvements in 2008, there were two issues the city wanted the state to address.
The city is responsible for maintaining the detention areas. They were supposed to drain following rain, but the irrigation wasn’t up to par. And so, the city wasn’t able to mow the area, which left a “horrible first impression,” City Manager Jim Landon said.
The state will also fund improvements to State Road 100, making right-turn lanes for motorists to head onto I-95. Currently, there are no turning lanes, and so when traffic lights are red, cars can’t turn onto the interstate.
“It’s a joint effort,” Landon said, noting that Flagler County Engineer Faith Alkathib has been involved in the process. “It’s one of our major gateways into the community. We have installed our gateway signs and then with the area not being able to be maintained, it just looked bad.”
