Bay County OKs $9 million project to repair 13 miles of roads damaged by Michael

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·2 min read

PANAMA CITY − Local officials continue efforts to repair roads damaged more than four years ago by a devastating natural disaster.

Bay County commissioners on Wednesday voted to spend more than $9 million to repair almost 13 miles of roads damaged in October 2018 by Category 5 Hurricane Michael. The repairs will make up the fifth and sixth phases of the county's Hurricane Michael roadway rehabilitation project.

Phase 5, which was awarded to Roberts and Roberts Inc., will cost more than $5.778 million and repair 9.68 miles of roads. Phase 6, which was awarded to Anderson Columbia Co. Inc., will cost more than $3.265 million and repair 3.16 miles of roads.

The majority of costs for each project will be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to Commissioner Bill Dozier.

A map of roads slated to be repaired in phase 5 of Bay County's Hurricane Michael roadway rehabilitation project.
A map of roads slated to be repaired in phase 5 of Bay County's Hurricane Michael roadway rehabilitation project.

"It's very important for people to have good roads to be able to travel on," Dozier said. "It's for safety. ... A lot of work has gone into getting these roads back on track and where they need to be, (and) there's still a lot of work ahead of us."

Phase 4:Bay County OKs $12.245 million project to repair 18 miles of roads damaged by Michael

Recent visit:Gov. Ron DeSantis visits Panama City Beach to tout bans on COVID vaccine and mask mandates

He noted it might take about 10 phases before all county roads damaged by Michael are repaired. The commission approved the fourth phase in a meeting earlier this month.

The companies selected to oversee the fifth and sixth phases were among a handful considered by commissioners. C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. and Anderson Columbia Co. Inc. also applied for phase 5. American Sand and Asphalt Paving, C.W. Roberts Contracting Inc. and Roberts and Roberts also applied for phase 6.

A map of roads slated to be repaired in phase 6 of Bay County's Hurricane Michael roadway rehabilitation project.
A map of roads slated to be repaired in phase 6 of Bay County's Hurricane Michael roadway rehabilitation project.

Roads slated to be repaired in phase 5 include Legrand Drive, Oleander Drive, Malaga Place, Martin Circle, Nassau Street, 4th Street, Creamer Road, South Gainer Bayou Road, Tech Drive, Ferol Lane, College Boulevard, Woodhaven Place, Derby Woods Drive, Bowman Lane, Britton Lane, Martha Lane, West 35th Court, Squirrel Run, Fox Run, 23rd Court, Lanelle Road, Kirkwell Avenue, Canal Avenue, Edward Avenue, Selma Avenue, Sarasota Avenue, Hagler Avenue, Wedgewood Lane, Sunshine Drive, Christopher Circle, New Church Road, Long Road, Lake Suzzane Circle, Lake Joanna Drive, Green Leaf Circle, Brooke Lane, Merritt Brown Road, Gwendolen Court, Everitt Avenue, 14th Street, Kraft Avenue and Coleridge Road.

Roads slated to be repaired in phase 6 include 3rd Street, Callahan Road, West Pierson Drive, East Pierson Drive, Pierson Drive, Goose Bayou Road, West 30th Street, Fortune Avenue, Deer Point Lake Drive, Samuel Drive, East 43rd Street, Hyde Avenue and Yellow Bluff Road.

"It's outstanding," Commissioner Robert Carroll said of the upcoming repairs. "It takes a long time to get through the governmental process, but our staff was persistent and got the funding, (and) we're grateful to have it."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County OKs fifth and sixth phases of Hurricane Michael road repairs