Workers began arriving at the site around 9 p.m. Wednesday. They'll be working overnight shifts to avoid as much traffic congestion as possible on the Hathaway Bridge and by Port Panama City.

D.O.T. will be adding a third eastbound lane starting at the bridge and ending at a new, relocated port entrance. The new entrance will be a few hundred yards west, across from the current intersection of Moody Avenue. The traffic light will also move with the port entrance.

Once it's complete, the third eastbound lane should give drivers more distance to merge into traffic after crossing the bridge.

This project has been a long time coming because of increased congestion on Back Beach Road and at Gulf Coast Community College.

Awhile back we spoke with D.O.T. officials when they were first getting the plans underway.

"What our secretary has decided to do now is construct that additional lane, and once the funding becomes available for the flyover and the additional elevated roadway westbound then things will change. But right now, we're going ahead and adding that additional lane to improve congestion in the area," said Tommie Speights, Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson.

The flyover project is still far into the future, but this roadway project should certainly make the bridge commute more accommodating to both locals and tourists.