PCB City approves utility work in FDOT widening project

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. ( WMBB ) – The multi-year U.S. widening project will take Panama City Beach Parkway from 4 lanes to 6 lanes, along with sidewalks, bicycle lanes, and stormwater improvements.

The construction stretches from Mandy Lane to Richard Jackson Boulevard.

On Thursday, Panama City Beach City council agreed to pay over $340,000 to cover the cost of relocating some utility pipes.

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"So it's a Florida Department of Transportation Project it's not a city project, but we have utilities there. We have a water main there. We had to get that out of the way for them and so we're just moving it a little bit," Panama City Beach Mayor Stuart Tettemer said.

Crews have already moved the pipes. They're further from the pavement, increasing accessibility and safety.

"That will long-term benefit us in terms of maintenance, because we don't want to have workers that need to repair it, you know, close to the edge of the pavement and near traffic. It's just a much safer working environment for the traffic as well as our workers," PCB city utilities director Mark Schaeffer said.

Schaeffer says the change will not cause any additional problems for drivers on the road.

"If anybody's been driving by there, you can see it creeping along and then we'll construct the or their forces will construct the force main relocation in the near future. It'll be further away from the edge of pavement so you won't see any additional impacts on the on-road closures or anything as a result of that," Schaeffer said.

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In addition to those improvements, FDOT will also add upgraded traffic signals at Mandy Lane and Gulf Boulevard.

The U.S. 98 widening project started last year and is expected to be completed in late 2027.