County Road 205 from Espanola to SR100 Will Get a $4 Million Make-Over

County Road 205 between Espanola and State Road 100 is one of the more rustic roads in the county. It is also one of its most asphalt-challenged, and narrowest. Flagler County government will be fixing that. 

The County Commission on Monday approved a $3.2 million grant agreement with the state Department of Transportation, with an additional $868,000 required from the local government, to widen and repave the 1.9-mile stretch of 205 from SR100 to a dirt road just west of Espanola. CR 205 connects with County Road 13, which leads to U.S. 1.  

The project must be completed by the end of February 2027 to stay in compliance with the grant. 

“Proposed improvements will involve milling and resurfacing the existing roadway, paving shoulders, installation of guardrails (at the intersection with SR100), drainage improvements including box culvert extension, culvert installation, striping and signage,” a county memo states. 

The DOT had previously appropriated $1.9 million for the project. There have been cost increases. “However the final cost of the project will not be determined until it is put out to bid,” the memo states. The current estimate is that it will cost $4 million. The county has appropriated only $500,000 of the needed local share. The administration will bring back the item to the commission at the time of the bid award to determine how to make up a shortfall, if there is any. The state’s share may be increased or decreased based on the final bid amount. 

The road is used by trucks that travel in and out of a sand quarry along 205, by the Espanola community, and by drivers taking the shortcut between US1 and SR100, bypassing Bunnell. One of its two L-shaped stretches is so straight that it was used as an emergency landing strip by a Sunrise Aviation Flight School student whose single-engine Cessna developed problems. 

The County Commission on Monday approved the grant unanimously as part of its consent agenda, the portion of the agenda that includes numerous routine items that are approved in bulk with one vote, unless a commissioner or a member of the public deems an item worthy of further examination or discussion. No one requested further discussion regarding the road grant.