TRANSPORTATION 



William 01 sen, Ph.D. 

 2517 Limerick Drive 

 Tallahassee, FL 32308 



INTRODUCTION 



This report is a -review of the transportation systems in Bay, Escambia, 

 Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton Counties of Northwest Flor- 

 ida. The systems reviewed are seaports, airports, railroads, highways, bus, 

 air, and pipelines. 



Reasonably detailed information was available on all but railroad and 

 pipeline systems. A synthesis of the data findings on modes of transportation 

 is given in the following sections. Short tons (2,000 lb) are used in this 

 report and sometimes are referred to as volume. 



SEAPORTS 



PORT LOCATIONS 



The location of the three major seaports in Northwest Florida (Pensacola, 

 Panama City, and Port St. Joe) are shown in Figure 1. The harbors and ship- 

 ping channels of the three ports exceed the depth requirements (8 m or 27 ft) 

 for most merchant ships and ocean barges (Florida Department of Transportation 

 1978a). 



The smaller ports at Apalachicola and Carabelle (Figure 1) have neither 

 the channel depth nor the facilities to engage in commercial cargo, but they 

 serve as bases for fishing fleets and pleasure boats. 



PORT CHARACTERISTICS 



This section concerns the physical characteristics and the past and pro- 

 jected cargo volume (tonnage) of the three major ports in Northwest Florida. 

 Data on historical volumes of cargo are taken from the U.S. Army Corps of 

 Engineers, Waterborne Commerce of the United States (1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 

 and 1978). Physical characteristics of the ports, capacities, and projections 

 are taken from the Florida Waterport Systems Study (Florida Department of 

 Transportation 1978a). 



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