Road Resurfacing
Since 2017, Bay County has invested approximately $39.3 million in surtax funds to resurface more than 100 miles of county roads and approximately $17.9 million in surtax funds to pave more than 30.5 miles of dirt roads. Some of the major roadways resurfaced with surtax funding include County Road 388, County Road 389, and County Road 2297.
Philip Griffitts Pkwy. II Addition
The second phase of the Philip Griffitts Sr. Parkway (State Road 28), a 2.4-mile connection between the first phase of the project to Nautilus Street, was completed and opened in May 2021. The roadway is intended as a bypass to alleviate congestion on U.S. 98 and improve safety and capacity on Panama City Beach Parkway and State Road 79 and as a hurricane evacuation route. The approximately $16 million project was a public-private partnership between Panama City Beach, Bay County, the Florida Department of Transportation and the St. Joe Company. Bay County’s portion of the project was approximately $3.5 million and funded by the half-cent surtax. A third phase from Clara Avenue and Chip Seal Parkway is in the project development and environment study phase.
East Avenue
Bay County, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), and Panama City partnered in 2020 to replace the bridge on East Avenue (County Road 389) over Watson Bayou in the historic Millville community. The structure, more than 50 years old at the time, had spalls, cracks, and section loss. The overall cost of the bridge replacement project was $2.9 million. FDOT covered 75 percent of the total cost. Additionally, through a separate Half-Cent Surtax project, Panama City reconstructed East Avenue south of Cherry Street.
Jenks Avenue Widening
The Jenks Avenue Widening Project, completed in early 2022, expanded the roadway from two to four lanes of traffic from Baldwin Road to State Road 390. In addition to increasing the roadway’s capacity, the $11.8 million project included the addition of bike lanes and sidewalks, providing safer connectivity for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling on Jenks Avenue. The project was funded by surtax and FDOT grants.
C.R. 2297 / Cooks Bayou
In February 2020, Bay County completed a more than $8 million project to replace the Cooks Bayou Bridge and pave Old Allanton Road, providing residents with a new, safe ingress and egress to the Sandy Creek community. The project included the removal of the existing 350-foot causeway with two culverts. Crews excavated roughly 13,900 cubic yards of material, constructed a temporary bridge, and ultimately built 755 linear feet of roadway and a new, 640-foot-long, nine span concrete bridge with two 30-foot long approach slabs. The project was funded by surtax dollars and grants.
Thomas Drive Resurfacing
In August 2021, Bay County completed an $8.1 million project to mill and resurface Thomas Drive from Joan Avenue to Bristol Street (approximately 3.1 miles). The project also included storm sewer repair and pedestrian facilities upgrades along Thomas Drive as well as the pavement of the existing parking lot at Rick Seltzer Park.