The sounds of roadway construction are a common tune in the adjacent Florida Panhandle communities of Panama City Beach and Panama City along the Gulf Coast.
According to Ian Satter, a spokesperson of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), work continues to inch forward on a massive project to expand a portion of U.S. Highway 98/Panama City Beach Parkway in Bay County from four to six lanes.
Currently, there are approximately 5 mi. of roadway under construction in the city.
"The U.S. 98 widening project in Bay County will provide congestion relief for the corridor, improve safety and emergency access routes, and enhance regional economic development opportunities," Satter told the Panama City News Herald.
The project aims to expand the road from Mandy Lane southeast to the Hathaway Bridge, however, it was broken down into three segments to help with planning and securing state funding, he explained.
- The first segment, from Mandy Lane to Nautilus Street, is projected to cost about $50 million.
- Segment 2 continues from Nautilus to Richard Jackson Boulevard at a cost of around $60 million.
- The third portion of the project will progress from Richard Jackson to the Hathaway Bridge over St. Andrew Bay. It is expected to carry a $75 million price tag.
Construction on the first two segments got under way last fall, but Satter said it could take until 2026 for work to begin on the last portion of the project.
"When we have projects of this magnitude, and you can break them down into segments, it's easier to program the funding to get the [monies] available," he noted. "Fortunately for us, [with] the two [portions] under construction, we were able to program almost simultaneously."
In its tentative five-year work program for Segment 3 of the U.S. 98/Panama Beach Parkway, FDOT plans to kick off construction in two years' time, but that could change based on the approval of the state Legislature, Satter explained.
The first two expansion portions of the highway through Panama City Beach should be complete by late 2027, he added. That means all three segments could be under construction at the same time for about a year. Like Segments 1 and 2, the third segment is expected to take approximately three to four years to finish.
During the work, road crews along the corridor will be most active at night from about 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. As a result, drivers also might experience temporary lane closures; however, at least one lane in each direction will always remain open.
Satter said that it is common for FDOT to segment road projects of about the same length as the U.S. 98 highway work.
"The concern there, obviously, is ensuring that people can continue to get to their homes, get to their places of business, [and keep] those businesses accessible and the area open," he told the Panama City News Herald.
FDOT Provides Update On Florida Highway 390 Expansion
Just across St. Andrew Bay in Panama City, FDOT has opened a new entrance to the SweetBay development at the intersection of West Baldwin Road and Florida Highway 390.
Agency officials said the traffic shift will make transportation in the area more efficient.
"What that allows us to do is make sure that traffic is entering and exiting that area through a signalized intersection," Satter explained while speaking with Panama City's WMBB-TV. "That way we can help control traffic movements and improve safety in the area."
Fla. 390 has been under construction since before Hurricane Michael roared across the city in 2018.
"[The highway] is in the process of being widened from two to six lanes," Satter noted in late January. "Two of the three segments have been completed, and we're on our third and final segment, which we began a few years back to widen [Fla.] 390 from Baldwin Road to 23rd Street."
He also told WMBB-TV that additional temporary changes will be made to traffic patterns to the highway throughout the duration of the project to keep vehicles moving while construction progresses.
"As part of this transition, the Stanford Road intersection will be closed for a couple of weeks while we continue our configuration," he added. "Again, these are all temporary configurations right now. We have a long process to continue construction over the next two years before we finally have the full six lanes open in that area."
While the Fla. 390 expansion work is ongoing, FDOT wants motorists to use caution when driving in the SweetBay area.
"We ask people to obey the speed limit and watch for construction vehicles and workers entering and exiting a work zone," Satter said.
The state transportation agency expects the Fla. 390 lane expansion to be completed by 2026.
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