Underpass Marks Milestone in Safety and Accessibility

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. – Oct. 31 – Walton County Tourism, Beach Operations and county officials joined the Cultural Arts Alliance, Scenic Walton and community members to celebrate the official opening of the Inlet Beach pedestrian underpass at Highway 98 and 30A. Shortly after the ribbon cutting, attendees enjoyed a celebratory walk through the tunnel and festivities at 30Avenue.

“[It] started several years ago with a couple of civic and business groups and a group called the East Corridor Improvement Committee, and they came up with an idea that we needed some kind of public conveyance across 98,” said Brian Kellenberger, director of Walton County Beach Operations, adding “something to make it safe for people that wanted to get across the road and enjoy all the nice businesses across the road.”

Leigh Moore, executive director of Scenic Walton, has led the project from the start. She emphasized the community safety aspect, explaining that the project became personal after hearing from locals.

“There's a lot more than just the underpass, but that's been the big part for 10 years,” said Moore. “But as we started to work on it, Brian Corr and John Freer and Brent Chandler of the Donut Hole started telling me, ‘Leigh, we're sitting here or standing here watching people almost get hit every day at this intersection,’ and that's when it went from mechanical to right to my heart.”

The underpass features 10 murals by local artists, curated by the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County. Jennifer Steele, president & CEO of the CAA, said, “the theme of the murals was connectivity, and we wanted the murals to be inspired by the artist's connectivity to the landscape, to the built environment, and obviously our connections with each other.”

The installation includes artworks by Francisco Adaro, Katherine Boggs, Heather Clements, Bradley Copeland, Olga Guy, Wes Hinds, Sarah Page, Andy Saczynski, Andrea Scurto and Lindsay Tobias. Artists were selected from the CAA’s pre-vetted Public Artist Directory, and each created a mural measuring 20 ft. wide x 8 ft. high. 

Steele also announced the CAA added two replicas of sculptures in the Underwater Museum of Art at the underpass. Those sculptures are The Grayt Pineapple by Rachel Herring McCord, sponsored by Rosemary Beach Realty, on the north end of the underpass and Common Chord by Vince Tatum, sponsored by the St. Joe Community Foundation, on the south end.

The public art component is part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s greater $5.6 million Underpass project and was created by the CAA in collaboration with Scenic Walton, Walton County Board of County Commissioners and Walton County Tourism. Additional support was provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, St. Joe Community Foundation, Rosemary Beach Realty, Market 30A, 30A.com, Morning Star Foundation, 30Avenue, Howard Group and John and Nina Freer. 

The opening of the Inlet Beach Pedestrian Underpass marks a significant milestone in enhancing safety and accessibility in the region. To see photos of the event and mural installations, visit platform.crowdriff.com/m/s-dJmLb5Hu0Iie3Ss3.

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