Front Beach Road construction project is complete but faced delays

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Panama City Beach’s Front Beach Road Improvement Project — Segment 3 — is complete after four years of construction, though the project finished with delays and additional costs paid to the contractor.

At a Panama City Beach City Council meeting Thursday, council members approved a final payment of $1.9 million to CWR Contracting. The project’s total cost came to approximately $32 million.

Segment 3 covered the corridor from Highway 79 to South Arnold Road, connecting into Front Beach Road.

City leaders said construction ran into multiple problems that pushed the timeline back approximately 375 days. The biggest issues included conflicts with overhead utilities, and a major redesign of the storm drain system.

“They did have a lot of unforeseen circumstances in the job, mainly with the communications of Florida power and light to work well with putting all the utilities underground... we’re very pleased with the finished product, we’re looking now at the roundabout and trying to do something in the near future,” said Paul Casto, Panama City Beach council member ward 1.

Council members are considering design options for the center of the roundabout on South Arnold Road. Ideas discussed include adding a fountain or new lighting. Council members said they will continue the conversation and review more options at the next council meeting.

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