Panama City Beach City Council OKs $5.3 million contract for Alf Coleman Road project
PANAMA CITY BEACH − Construction will soon begin on a project to reduce flooding in an area of the Beach.
The Panama City Beach City Council on Thursday voted to award Gulf Coast Utility Contractors a contract worth more than $5.3 million to revamp Alf Coleman Road.
Here's what we know:
What is the purpose of the project?
According to Scott Passmore, assistant program manager of the Corradino Group, the Alf Coleman Road project will raise the street's elevation to reduce roadway flooding, improve the surrounding drainage system, and rehabilitate existing pavement.
The project is part of the city's Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area Plan, which is managed by the Corradino Group. The CRA was formed in 2001 with the goal of installing upgraded features along Front Beach Road and its connecting roadways.
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"The primary focus is two things: One is pedestrian safety, and two is getting the road out of the 100-year flood plain so that it doesn't flood during normal rainfall," Passmore said. "We are raising the road approximately 14 inches at its highest point. The entirety of the road will be brought up higher than it is today.
"Alf Coleman sits in a wet basin that is what we call a closed-drainage basin, so it doesn't have a lot of great ways to outlet, so that's what really contributes to the fact that the road tends to flood in very low rain events," he said.
How is the project being funded?
Passmore noted he expects for basically the entire project to be funded by grants from both the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Department of Transportation.
Along with a bid from Gulf Coast Utility Contractors, which was selected Thursday, Panama City Beach also received a bid from CWR Contracting for about $6.7 million.
"We would not anticipate using any of the (city's) CRA funding to pay for this project," Passmore said. "It should be 100% covered by the grants that we received."
When might construction begin and end?
Passmore expects construction of the Alf Coleman Road project to break ground some time next month. It should then take about a year to complete.
"The contract has 289 calendar (days) allowed, but that does not include weather and any other issues we might encounter," he said. "We might have to grant (more) time. We're saying at this point we think it will take 11 months to a year to complete."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: PCB OKs contract for $5.3 million Alf Coleman Road project
