Category: Front Beach Road CRA

CRA – South Thomas Drive Construction Update, Widening Road

When it comes to getting right down to business, the Front Beach Road CRA (short for community redevelopment area) in Panama City Beach is cranking out the first steps in making South Thomas Drive awesome.  The South Thomas Drive road, well known as a crater-ific, pitted nightmare of a road, is getting a huge shot in the arm by way of completely NEW road, widened travel path, sidewalks, beautiful landscaping and sweet street lamps.  Oh, and I forgot to mention all those ugly utility lines will be moved under ground; that’s huge!

Continue reading “CRA – South Thomas Drive Construction Update, Widening Road” →

57 Reasons the New South Thomas Drive will Rock

The Front Beach Road CRA in Panama City Beach is set to change the face of the beach and reset the perception of all those that visit our beautiful area. Right now, driving up and down our main travel corridors is non-to-pleasing to the eye, what with the towering out of the ground utilities and lack of proper sidewalks and landscaping. BUT, that’s all in the process of change. Change is good, right?

Yesterday evening a community workshop was held at the CRA office to show off what’s in store for the next phase of the CRA (community redevelopment area), including South Thomas Drive, a section of Front Beach Road and the intersection of Front Beach Road, Middle Beach Road and North Thomas Drive.

Tip: You can learn more about the CRA, or you can read below for more details on this portion.

I’m going to warn you, what you are about to read will be long, but super rich with multimedia. Hopefully you’ll have a great idea as to what this portion of the cra will actually involve.

This roadways covered in this portion of the CRA form a loop, if you will around Laketown Wharf and a portion of the Signal Hill Golf course. The road runs right by Boardwalk Beach Resort, then passes by Pineapple Willies, through condo canyon (Laketown Wharf/Shores of Panama), goes right carrying you right past Wal-Mart and through the intersection just a little where Walgreen’s, Ripley’s and Backyard Burger rest. Included also is a little bit of the roadway called North Thomas Drive that would lead you down to the camp ground across from Club La Vela.

Here are the 57 Reasons the New South Thomas Drive will Rock

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Front Beach, Middle Beach, North Thomas Drive Intersection

  • This is the intersection described above that plays home to Ripley’s Believe it or Not!
  • They will completely redo the whole intersection, traffic lights and all
  • The new intersection will have an emphasis on pedestrian friendliness
    • Currently it is difficult for peds to cross because of the wide road ways
    • They will redo some of the existing pedestrian islands
    • Also, an additional pedestrian island will be added by Backyard Burger
    • Existing ped islands will be beautified
  • The famous dedicated right turn lane from west-bound Front Beach Road that turns onto Middle Beach will be done away with, median curb and all
    • But, that lane will still be a turn only lane, just not dedicated
    • Actually, they will ad an additional right turn lane making the total number of right turn lanes from Front Beach to Middle Beach TWO
  • Right smack dab in the middle of the intersection will be a huge decorative paver insignia of the Panama City Beach logo surely marketing the busiest intersection on Panama City Beach. Could Wal-mart have anything to do with that? hmmm
  • The right turn from North Thomas Drive onto Front Beach Road (by the Ripley’s museum) will be pulled back to make it a larger radius. You may have noticed their new sign and how it has recently moved back. They were getting it out of the way!
  • Pedestrian walkways will be very clearly marked
  • My favorite: all those ugly utility lines (power, phone and the like) will be moved UNDERGROUND!
  • Sidewalks will be installed
  • Cool street lamps will be installed
  • Lovely landscaping that will hopefully be taken good care of.

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The Circle K Intersection of Front Beach Road

  • This area covers the “curve” by Laketown Wharf and the entrance of Shores of Panama.
  • This area is well known for its traffic during peak seasons
  • Many in attendance were not happy with the plans as they did not seem to address the current problems
    • I talked with the owner of Pineapple Willies who was telling me that teh traffic problems there greatly effect his business every year
    • Many property owners there expressed their concern that during peak seasons it was very difficult for them to come and go from their residences
    • Some of the suggestions included widening the turn so that there would be two dedicated turn lanes because all of the traffic is broken up to turn right or left at the Circle K
  • The plans include a dedicated Tram lane for the multi-model transportation device
    • Many suggested to do away with this all together, but this route of the Tram service is integral in the Tram “looping” back to return to the west end of Panama City Beach
    • The goal of the Tram is to get people to park their cars and ride mass transportation systems, this could work great, if done correctly.
    • I think cars would be able to travel in this Tram lane, so they could use the Tram lane to turn right, right?
  • Of course, all utilities will be moved underground
  • Sidewalks will be installed
  • Landscaping will be installed
  • There will be clearly marked crossing areas with pedestrian medians
  • There will be periodic cut-outs for the Tram loading and unloading stops

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South Thomas Drive, North Thomas Drive Intersection

  • Located right by Alvin’s Island
  • They actually (they, as in The City of Panama City Beach) bought a huge chunk of land between Alvin’s Island and Signal Hill Golf Course
  • This land will be used to build a retention pond and a cut through roadway
  • The retention pond will be designed to be a beautiful amenity
    • Sidewalks all around with sitting areas
    • Landscaped and lighted
    • It looks as thought there may be a little roadside parking for those that may want to enjoy
  • The roadway cut through will be charged with the goal of easing traffic into North Thomas Drive
    • Intersection will be “signalized”
    • Right now, the turn just sort of “juts” out, giving more bias to turning right then left, and is actually quite dangerous if you’re not paying attention.
    • The new intersection will have pedestrian walkways clearly marked
    • There will be a little right off-shoot to cover access still to boardwalk and thee other “local” businesses.
    • This will alleviate some of the traffic pressure during peak seasons and times of high traffic *cough* little wayner
  • Alvin’s Island will actually be a little “island”

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Huge Retention Pond in Place of Old Homeless Camp

  • This retention pond will actually be behind McDonalds in front of the Wal-Mart parking lot (bet you were always wondering what was behind all those shrubs at the end of the Wal-Mart parking lot, weren’t you?)
  • Right now there is a fence along the McDonald’s parking lot
    • I was told that this lot was the former site of a homeless camp, even though it is right in the middle of the action, it was actually well secluded. That is before the city came in and ruined the fun and cleared it all out.
    • I was also told that McD’s is anxious for this as when it is build, they will tear down their fence and open it up for their customers to use
  • This retention pond will be quite large and will feature landscaping and sidewalks all around
  • A “viewing” platform will be built with seating areas so that people can enjoy the view of the retention pond
  • Lighting, landscaping and sidewalks all around (did I say that already?)
  • The public will have access to the amenity from both Middle Beach and Front Beach Roads

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Below are some high-resolution renderings of the different aspects of the project.

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CRA Kick-off Party for South Thomas Drive Construction

Charged with literally changing the face of Panama City Beach, the CRA is on the move again.  The next project on the table is the reconstruction of the South Thomas Drive corridor and tonight is the kick-off party for the public to come in and see what’s going to take place over the next 2 years or so.

The CRA, or community redevelopment area has swept through the area over the last few years completely changing the Churchwell Drive and R Jackson Blvd (formerly Beckrich) corridors with not only entirely new roads, but new infrastructures.  These projects included moving utilities underground and adding beautification accents such as sidewalks, landscaping and street lights – something our area has been badly in need of for years.

Churchwell Drive is the road that travels in between Middle Beach and Front Beach Road that plays home to the Beach post office.  Included in the project was a new bridge that required most of the budget and time, but the result was a beautiful 4 lane road with a center turn lane, sidewalks and these cool street lamps that make you want to walk everywhere just so you can look at them.

R Jackson Blvd, formerly known as Beckrich Road underwent an entire transformation expanding it from a two lane, heavily traversed, dangerous main corridor to a lovely, wide, beautiful road that enjoys pedestrians all the time.  If you haven’t driven down it lately, you should.  I experience that euphoria as often as possible, and sometimes even pull over just to walk it.

I remember the ground-breaking like it was yesterday, thinking to myself, “2 year? Man, that’s a long time for a road to be under construction.”  But man, did the time fly.  Fully opened in April of this year, it has serviced the area well and opened up a quick way to get from Back Beach to Front Beach Road.

Take a look at the progress over the last couple years:

———————————————————So, what’s happening tonight?  There will be a public event that will explain to the public just what will be happening over the next 18 to 24 months in the South Thomas Drive area.  The South Thomas Drive corridor is the area that is in between the Circle K (by Shores of Panama and Laketown Wharf) and Club La Vela.  If you’ve traveled down that road, you know that it is a poor excuse for a patch of pavement, much less an actual road and is badly in need of a complete overhaul.

The new South Thomas Drive will include (I beleive) four lanes with a center turn lane, sidewalks, landscaping, those cool street lamps and all the utilities moved underground.  This will be huge not only for the area but also for Panama City Beach as this is a heavily traveled area.  The unfortunate part is having to endure the construction along the way; but there’s nothing we can do about that and it will be very much worth the trouble.

You can bet you can count on us to keep you all abreast of every new little detail that emerges with this in addition to construction update photos and the like.  Stay tuned for an update about how tonight went.

By the way, the event is at the CRA office from 5 to 7 pm.  The CRA office is located in the old St. Joe building next to the Nextel call center on R Jackson BLVD.  Click here for a map.

Beckrich Rd. Renamed Richard Jackson Boulevard

photo2At exactly 11:49 AM April 29th Mayor Gayle Oberst made the renaming of Beckrich Road to Richard Jackson Boulevard official, honoring the long time city manager Richard Jackson. Dozens of people were on hand, filling the parking lot outside of the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce building to participate in the event. At one time, three of Panama City Beach’s most recent mayors (Oberst, Phillip Griffits, and Lee Sullivan) held the stage to honor Mr. Jackson, though honoring quickly turned into a lighthearted roast drawing applause and laughter thoughout.

Beckrich Road was renamed and revamped with a 9-million dollar roadway expansion from 2 lanes to 4 lanes. For many of Panama City Beach residents, myself included, the GAC managed overhaul of Beckrich has been nothing short of successful; the intersection runs smoother and is more aesthetic with sidewalks, tropical landscaping and upgraded underground utilities paid for with the beach’s community redevelopment area (CRA) money.

Panama City Beach City Manager since 1969, after humbly accepting the honor, Richard Jackson said, “I really appreciate all the nice things that have been said about me. It’s been a job, it’s a job I’ve enjoyed. I’ve really enjoyed it, it’s been an honor. I plan on sticking around for awhile.”

Mayor Oberst also gave a nod to a future Front Beach Road and Thomas drive project to be done through the CRA. This project will overhaul South Thomas (near Alvin’s Island) and go up to Front Beach Rd. where expansions and facelifts will go westward towards Richard Jackson Boulevard and East towards the Hutchison Intersection near Ripley’s Believe it Or Not Musuem.

Click here to read more about the Panama City Beach CRA.

Beckrich Road Opens New Lane

Working under the ever watchful eye of the warm sun, workers barely break a sweat in the mild 59 degree weather.  Clear blue skies with a light breeze make for perfect working conditions.

Recently new light posts have been installed along new sidewalks on Beckrich Road as part of the Community Redevelopment Area in Panama City Beach, also known as the CRA..  The posts are stylish and resemble something like what you would find in Stars Hollow, the sidewalks are concrete and whitish-grey in color and will one day very soon be walked on by the size 11 shoe of both tourists and locals alike.

Straining under the weight of the immense weight of the broken bits of road, a Caterpillar tractor lifts itself off the ground as the scoops grow larger and larger.  Heavy equipment has just gnarled the section of Beckrich that comes up to Back Beach Road in preparation for a new layer of hot smooth asphalt.

Sod has gone down, curbing is in place and bugs and other creeping things have a new home in the median vegetation that actually looks quite beautiful and refreshing.  Neat rows of palm trees add to the feel of modern sophistication Panama City Beach has for so long deserved.  No more power or phone lines either.  Sweet.

Workers labor diligently to get the new traffic lights installed at the intersection of Middle Beach  and Beckrich Road.  Panama City Beach Police Department employees have been directing traffic all morning.  “It’s pretty dangerous out here.  We almost get hit every now and then, ” one officer didn’t tell me earlier.

Starting today, northbound traffic on Beckrich used the newly paved lane with the southbound traffic using the same lane as was used last week.  Still only two lanes of traffic traverse the route.  The entrance to Edgewater Shopping Plaza was a mud pit as recently as last week, but now it is silky smooth pavement.

Construction should be totally complete in two months.

Beckrich Road CRA Update

I know what you are thinking – what’s this rubbish.  Why is jason posting pictures of plantlife, is he going all botanical and what-not?  This my friend is a picture of the new shrubbery planted in the median of Beckrich Road.  That’s right, they have plantlife in the median.  Panama City Beach is moving on up in this world.

Started in September 2007, the Beckrich Road portion of the CRA is coming closer to completion each day.  On schedule to be done by May, landscaping is being installed and final measures are taking place on the original, yet newly rehashed side of the road.

The final product will be four lanes of landscaped, medianed, sidewalked, street lamped roadway extending from Back Beach Road to Front Beach Road going through the intersection of Middle Beach Road or Hutchison Boulevard.  All existing underground utilities were replaced and all electrical utilities were moved underground.

The east side of the stretch of Beckrich south of Middle Beach Road is dirt right now with preparations being made for paving.

This is what we can expect all of the main travel coridors of Panama City Beach to look like.  All along Front Beach Road, the power and phone lines will be moved underground, the street will be widened and sidewalks and landscaping will be installed along the sides.

CRA Moving Forward – Construction Update

The Front Beach Road CRA is making great progress with the current project and is planning and preparing for the next segment in the rebuilding of our tourist transportation corridor.

The Beckrich Road project, started in September of 2007 is right on schedule.  Just last week traffic was switched to the newly paved portion of the road so that crews can begin the reconstruction of the original treaded path.  Part of the process will include bringing it up to grade, repaving and curbing.  The entire project, including street-side lighting, sidewalks, and landscaping will be complete by May of 2009.

The next phase of the CRA will be the South Thomas Drive area, including the road that travels past Boardwalk, past Pineapple Willies and dead-ends at Laketown Wharf and Shores of Panama.  If you haven’t traveled down this road in a while, then you don’t know just how bad this road really is.  This stretch of pavement looks like it was laid during colonial times, probably at least 250 years old – sarcasm.

This particular part of the CRA is unique in that there isn’t enough room to expand the roadway as much as some of the other areas.  However, the final product will have two full size traffic lanes, a middle turn lane and a west-bound tram lane that will double as an expanded bike pathway.  Sidewalks, lighting and landscaping will be on both sides, and the final product will be beautiful and pedistrian friendly.

The planning is almost complete, and the right of way land is nearly all purchased, but construction funding is yet to be in place.  With roughly $10 million in the bank, Ben Faust of DRMP, the engineering firm overseaing the CRA operation, said they still need to raise another $20 million to fund construction and purchase right of way land for the next phase of the CRA that will cover Front Beach Road, from Walmart past Bechrich Road.

“Even in light of the current financial situation, we should still be able to raise the money we need through bond sales,” said Faust.  If everything goes as planned, the South Thomas section will be advertised for bid first quarter of 2009 with a prjected start time sometime next summer.  Total construction time should be around 24 months.

The next section of the CRA – Front Beach Road, from Walmart past Beckrich should begin construction summer of 2010.

Beckrich Road CRA – New Side Paved!

The Beckrich Road portion of the CRA is making huge strides in progress. The new side was paved this week and curb work was installed. I think we’ll be driving on it in the next couple of weeks as they redo the old side.

The groundbreaking for the Beckrich Road portion of the Front Beach Road CRA in Panama City Beach was on September 4th, 2007. Total construction time is expected to be less than 24 months. The cost of construction is around $10 million and includes Beckrich Road from Back Beach Road to Front Beach Road.

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Churchwell Drive CRA Complete – Road Opened Thursday

Churchwell Drive, the road that goes by the Panama City Beach Post Office connecting Middle Beach and Front Beach Roads was reopened Wednesday.

Construction began April 2007 and was completed ahead of schedule as it wasn’t slatted to be completed until mid summer 2008.

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