Roundabout to open this fall at Bay County airport entrance. Get a bird's-eye view
PANAMA CITY BEACH — Residents and visitors can expect a smoother route to and from the Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP) to open soon.
According to Ian Satter, spokesman for the Florida Department of Transportation, portions of the roundabout at the airport's entrance should open to motorists this fall.
The development is part of a larger $51 million FDOT project to realign, revamp and expand to four lanes a stretch of State 388 that extends from State 79 to about West Bay Parkway. Its construction began in February 2019.
"Roundabouts are proven to be safer than a traditional signalized intersection," Satter said. "(They) reduce the amount of catastrophic crashes that can occur at a standard intersection. They're easy to navigate, (and) provide a freer flow of traffic through an area."
Prepare for detours: Traffic diversions soon near Bay County airport entrance for roundabout project
'One more completed milestone': Panama City Beach to soon open new stoplight at busy intersection
He noted other portions of the roundabout, as well as the entire FDOT project along State 388, should be complete in the spring of 2023.
A future project also is planned to reconstruct the eastern portion of State 388 from about West Bay Parkway to State 77. It has been designed, but funding is not yet available.
"Everything is based on a priority list set forth by the Bay County Transportation Planning Organization," Satter said. "As that (part of the) roadway becomes a higher priority for that region and funding becomes available, we will look to fund that second segment."
For Parker McClellan, executive director of ECP, the roundabout is important to the airport's future, especially as the airport expands and welcomes more and more passengers every year.
According to June's activity report, the facility serviced about 1.5% more passengers in the first six months of 2022 than it did during the same time period in 2021, the busiest year in the airport's history.
"All of this is to enhance safety and improve the experience on State 388, as well as coming in and out of the airport," McClellan said of the ongoing project. "As the community grows, the airport grows, and as the airport grows, the community grows. As a result, there will be more traffic on State 388, more traffic coming in and out of the airport.
"... We think (the roundabout) is going to be a huge benefit in terms of capacity, as well as safety."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Bay County's international airport getting roundabout by spring 2023
