The Mid-Bay Bridge is a 141-span, 3.6-mile (5.8 km), two-lane toll bridge in Okaloosa County in the Florida Panhandle . It connects U.S. Highway 98 in Destin to State Road 20 in Niceville . The bridge generally runs north-south; the approaches to the bridge carry the State Road 293 designation while the bridge itself carries the TOLL 293 shield.
21-654: The bridge crosses Choctawhatchee Bay , part of the Intracoastal Waterway . It was constructed in 1992-93, when the Florida Department of Transportation recognized the growing need for a more direct route between the Destin beaches and the mainland for tourists and to assist hurricane evacuation from population centers and resorts on the Gulf of Mexico . There is one toll plaza at the north end of
42-444: A "suppressed weapon" and believed that he had been shot: "I felt an impact on my right side, like upper torso area … I feel the impact. My legs just give out." The Sheriff's Office's stated that while Roberts' shooting was reasonable, Hernandez's shooting was "not objectively reasonable", but "we do believe [Hernandez] felt his life was in immediate peril". In May 2024, an Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy fatally shot Roger Fortson ,
63-536: A United States Air Force member, in Fortson's home in Fort Walton Beach. According to body camera footage, when the deputy visited an apartment, Fortson opened the apartment door holding a gun in his right hand, with the gun held by his side and pointed downwards. As the door opened, the deputy told Fortson to "step back" and immediately shot Fortson. Fortson falls to the floor, and it is only then that
84-533: A location in Okaloosa County , Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a location in Walton County , Florida is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Okaloosa County, Florida 30°41′15″N 86°35′33″W / 30.68750°N 86.59250°W / 30.68750; -86.59250 Okaloosa County is a county located in
105-467: A new TOLL-BY-PLATE program being implemented statewide by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise . Be sure to not confuse the two tolls, as that will result in an invoice within 30 days of using the TOLL-BY-PLATE to pay this toll by mail, even if Mid-Bay Bridge toll at the bridge was paid. These are 2 tolls that need to be paid separately. Choctawhatchee Bay Choctawhatchee Bay is a bay in
126-703: A radar target range. Test Area D-55 is formed by 25 arrays of 2,040 wood pilings placed east of the Clyde B. Wells Bridge. They are located in 8 feet of water and the array extends for 1.2 miles. Several towns and cities are located around the Choctawhatchee Bay: Below are a few of the tributary rivers and bayous that feed into the Choctawhatchee Bay. 30°26′22″N 86°18′40″W / 30.43944°N 86.31111°W / 30.43944; -86.31111 This article about
147-510: Is land and 152 square miles (390 km ) (14.0%) is water. Fort Walton Beach and three United States Air Force bases, ( Duke Field in the North and Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field are in the south). As of the 2020 United States census , there were 211,668 people, 79,235 households, and 51,719 families residing in the county. As of 2015, there were 198,664 people and 95,494 households. As of
168-716: Is served by the Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative. Formed in October 1997, the Cooperative originally included the county and the cities of Crestview, Mary Esther, and Niceville. The cities of Fort Walton Beach, Valparaiso, and Destin all joined the Cooperative by the year 2000. The Okaloosa County Public Library Cooperative is governed by an independent, inter-governmental agency with seven members. Emerald Coast Rider (formerly Okaloosa County Transit ) operates bus services in
189-459: Is the only outlet of the bay flowing directly into the Gulf of Mexico, and is crossed by US 98 . The Choctawhatchee River flows into the bay, as do several smaller rivers and streams. The tolled Mid-Bay Bridge ( SR 293 ) crosses the bay, connecting the city of Destin to Niceville, Florida . The Judge Clyde B. Wells Bridge ( US 331 ) crosses the eastern part of the bay, connecting Freeport to
210-869: The Emerald Coast region of the Florida Panhandle . The bay, located within Okaloosa and Walton counties , is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico and has a surface area of 334 square kilometres (129 sq mi). It connects to Santa Rosa Sound in Fort Walton Beach, Florida to the west and to St. Andrews Bay in Bay County to the east, via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway . East Pass (also known as Destin Pass)
231-758: The bridge. As of 2022, the one way toll for a standard 2-axle vehicle was $ 4.00 with cash, and $ 3.00 ($ 2.00 for frequent customers) with the SunPass electronic toll system. The Spence Parkway is an, 11-mile, limited access, 2-lane, separately tolled highway that connects the north end of the Mid-Bay Bridge with SR 85 immediately north of Niceville, Florida . Interchanges at SR 85, SR 285 , Forest Road and SR 20 allow easy access from Interstate 10 to Niceville, Destin, Miramar Beach, and communities East of Niceville along SR 20. The Parkway provides considerably shorter travel times by avoiding 13 traffic signals along
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#1732784052929252-451: The census of 2010,the population density was 194.4 people per square mile (75.1 people/km ). As of 2015, there were 95,494 households. Within the 2010 census, 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.20% were married couples living together, 10.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.80% were non-families. 23.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.50% had someone living alone who
273-627: The coast. The bay was charted by Spanish , French , and English expeditions, The bay appears on some charts as "St. Rose's Bay". Following the Treaty of Moultrie Creek , small bands of Creeks lived on the shores of Choctawhatchee Bay. As noted in a 1993 Eglin AFB report, Test Area D-55 was originally installed in the World War II era by Eglin Air Force Base with "omnidirectional radar corner reflectors " on top to be used as
294-463: The county. In November 2023 in Fort Walton Beach , Okaloosa County Sheriff's deputy Jesse Hernandez and sergeant Beth Roberts shot multiple times at Hernandez's police car, where a handcuffed and unarmed black suspect had been placed there by police, according to investigators. The suspect was not injured by the shootings. Hernandez in December 2023 resigned from the department. In February 2024, it
315-692: The deputy tells Fortson: "Drop the gun!" Later in May 2024, a Florida woman sued the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office, claiming that on two occasions, once in August 2019 and once in May 2020, they forced her to leave her home while she remained naked during the execution of search warrants, exposing her to law enforcement officers and the public. Okaloosa County is one of the most conservative counties in Florida. Incumbent George W. Bush won
336-634: The eastern ranges of Santa Rosa County and the western ranges of Walton County . Okaloosa means "black water" ( oka means "water" and lusa means "black") in the Choctaw language . The name may have come from the related language spoken by the Chatot and other peoples of the Florida Panhandle. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 1,082 square miles (2,800 km ), of which 930 square miles (2,400 km )
357-801: The median income for a household in the county was $ 55,880. The per capita income for the county was $ 28,902. 11.3% of the population were below the poverty line . The county's public schools come under the Okaloosa County School District . Northwest Florida State College serves over 10,000 residents of Okaloosa County annually for bachelor's degrees, associate degrees, and certificates. The college maintains four campuses in Okaloosa County: Niceville, Crestview, Ft. Walton Beach, and Hurlburt Field, and one campus in Walton County, FL. Okaloosa County
378-543: The northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida , extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Alabama state line. As of the 2020 census, the population was 211,668. Its county seat is Crestview . Okaloosa County is included in the Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area . Okaloosa County was created by an act passed on September 7, 1915, formed from
399-427: The previous route through Niceville on SR 20. Additionally, the hurricane evacuation routes from all of south Okaloosa County and western Walton County have been significantly improved. The Spence Parkway is tolled separately from the Mid-Bay Bridge and utilizes “all electronic open-road tolling” that allows customers to pay tolls without slowing down or stopping. Tolls are collected with SunPass transponders or by using
420-461: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 2.94. According to the 2010 census, the population was spread out, with 24.70% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 22.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 102.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.50 males. In 2015,
441-399: Was announced that an internal investigation by the Okaloosa County Sheriff's office concluded that Hernandez began shooting after hearing the sound of an acorn bouncing off his police car, then Roberts began shooting after hearing Hernandez shooting and screaming, with Hernandez at one point shouting: "I'm hit! I'm hit!". Hernandez had told investigators that he thought he heard a gunshot from
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