Sloowww going

DESTIN, FL - A few weeks ago, it'd take Rosie Souza three minutes to get to work at the Hard Rock Café. Today, it can take a half-hour.
   
That's all right with tourism officials.
   
"This is our business," Tom Kraus, an Okaloosa County tourism analyst, said Thursday, some two weeks into spring break.
   
The season, Kraus said, has drawn more college students to Destin - and onto its roads - than he had forecast for the county's Tourist Development Council.
   
"I've been all over the place, and right now it's packed everywhere."
   
That includes the roads. Souza, a manager at the Hard Rock, said she and her employees routinely are late for work because of traffic, despite repeated lessons to leave home early.
   
When she finally arrives, Souza said she has more customers, and more of them are college students.
   
"It's just a normal thing, normal spring break," she said.
   
The problem: Some parts of Destin aren't ready for the traffic.
   
The city has closed the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and Airport Road as construction crews work to extend Commons Drive to Airport.
   
In the past, motorists have lined up on Airport, which connects to Indian Bayou Trail, which hits Two Trees Road, which then connects to Commons Drive. That route is so popular it often clogs during spring break and in the summer.
   
The project shut it down and has created a new trouble spot at Airport and U.S. 98, sometimes jamming it during one of the city's busiest times.
   
"There's never a good time in Destin to do road construction," said City Manager Greg Kisela. "What do you impact? The holiday season? Spring break? We clearly don't want to impact the 100 days of summer."
   
The project is near its halfway point and slated to last about 60 more days, with a completion date of May 22. But Kisela said the city has offered "economic incentives" to "shave off about 30 days" with the contractor bringing in more help to finish the job quickly.
   
Meanwhile, Okaloosa County sheriff's deputies in Destin said complaints of reckless driving and road rage have increased of late. On Thursday, a deputy's patrol car and an Infiniti sedan with Georgia plates collided near Regions Way. No one was hurt, but both vehicles had to be towed while traffic crawled around the scene.
   
Even though Kisela often endures the same crawling traffic to travel the short distance from his home to City Hall, he also said he likes what he sees.
   
"From a retail, hospitality, tourism standpoint, I mean, these folks are out there, and if you look at those tags, they're not from Okaloosa," Kisela said. "They're from out of state, and that's a good thing. That's a very good thing."