18 months to completion: CRA Segment 3 construction on track, 'going to look beautiful' in PCB
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Construction remains on track for the latest portion of a major roadway project to redevelop Front Beach Road.
Courtney Drummond, interim manager for the PCB Community Redevelopment Agency, told the City Council on Thursday that his department has experienced challenges with acquiring supplies for Segment 3 of the Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area Plan, but he still expects it to be complete by December 2023.
"I know everybody must be tired of seeing all the construction equipment, the dirt (and) all of that, (but) it's a process," he said of the project. "We're going to get there, and it's going to look beautiful ... but we are going to have some little growing pains as we go through.
"... As I like to tell folks, we're building the airplane while it's in flight. We're using (the road), and we're building (onto) it at the same time."
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Because of that, Drummond noted there will be intermittent lane closures, traffic shifts and limited full-lane closures before the segment is completed.
Segment 3 includes reconstruction of Front Beach Road west of State 79 to about Lullwater Drive, as well as along State 79 from Front Beach Road to Panama City Beach Parkway (Back Beach Road).
A roundabout also is being constructed at the intersection of State 79 and Front Beach Road.
The CRA was formed in 2001 with the goals of installing tram lanes, bicycle lanes, sidewalks, improved lighting, new street signs and landscaped medians along Front Beach Road and its connecting roadways.
In a presentation in April, Drummond said plans for three other portions of the CRA still are in the works. They include:
Segment 4.1 — Reconstruction of Front Beach Road east of Lullwater Drive to about Hills Road.
Segment 4.2 — Reconstruction of Front Beach Road east of Hills Road to about Lantana Street.
Segment 4.3 — Reconstruction of Front Beach Road from Hutchison Boulevard to about Richard Jackson Boulevard.
Additional portions that are designed and await construction include renovations to Alf Coleman Road and Powell Adams Road.
Work on Segments 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, along with improvements to Alf Coleman and Powell Adams roads, should break ground sometime next year, Drummond said.
Though work is ongoing on Segment 3, and a busy construction schedule is slated for next year, Drummond said the city plans to keep access to all impacted businesses open during the process.
"We recognize that the community depends on tourism," he said. "There's always something going on in the city, and keeping the pedestrian pathways flowing is one of the key things."
Following Drummond's presentation, Mayor Mark Sheldon said he believes it is important for everyone to remain updated on the status of CRA projects because they will play a crucial role in the city's future.
For Sheldon, the Front Beach Road CRA needs to be completed as soon as possible so it can be enjoyed by residents and tourists.
"We want the residents and the visitors alike to know exactly what is going on with this project every step of the way," he said. "This project needs to finish. ... We need to get done."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Panama City Beach CRA: Latest segment to be complete by December 2023
