Having broken ground almost 17 months ago, the Grand Lagoon Bridge is getting closer to completion every day. The old bridge was a low restrictive thing offering a measly 10 foot clearance. The new bridge will almost double that with a towering 18 feet of clearance.
Here are 5 fantastic facts on the new bridge which should be complete just before summertime.
With gold shovels in hand and orange hard-hats protecting their heads from the deep blue skies, several big names from Panama City Beach, Bay County and the State of Florida broke ground on the construction of the new Grand Lagoon Bridge and its accompanying roadway on the north and south side of the structure. Years in the planning, the Grand Lagoon Bridge was literally a pipe dream until just recently. Today, in discussion with several people from the Friends of Grand Lagoon, I was told that for a long time, it wasn’t believed that it would ever happen.
With toxicity and turbidity levels higher than many feel comfortable with in Grand Lagoon, The Friends of Grand Lagoon are discussing the possibility of changing the water out about every 20 days. How to tackle this great task you ask? By bringing fresh gulf water into the most western portion of the lagoon at the rate of 50,000 gallons per minute.
Last night I attended a regular Friends of Grand Lagoon meeting with a guest presenter from the City of Destin. Discussion on the table began with a study presentation of the turbidity and toxicity levels in Grand Lagoon that resulted in the Ecotoxicologist (not even in my spell check library) presenting making the statement when asked, “I would probably choose not to eat my catch from that body of water.”
Many asked if there was any indication as to how much toxicity had come from the sewage spill that resulted from a City of Panama City Beach lift station failure early this year. The presenter had no answer but indicated that the spill could have had something to do with it. However, he stressed the main problem was that the more deep you move into the lagoon, the less likely it is that the water there has been cycled out with new water. Much of it is stagnant and as remarked by a waterfront resident to myself halfway through the evening, “my backyard is a cesspool.”
Well, it should come as no surprise that if we are having an issue with something in Panama City Beach, so might others be having (or had) the same issue. The City of Destin battled this very issue in years past (like more than a decade, although I was unclear how long exactly they had been doing this), and they found the solution to be quite effective. They had gone through some trials and a few errors, but the final result seems to work quite well, indeed.
The solution is to burry a huge pipe and run it under the road and developments, 1,000 feet into the Gulf of Mexico. The land-side of the pipe would be hooked up to a small building that housed electronic monitoring equipment and a 150 hp electric motor that would pump hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into the stagnant side of Grand Lagoon every hour. In Destin, they mostly run the pump at night, during low peak electric time to keep the system efficient and have worked up a system over the years to produce barely any noise at all. In fact, the presenter mentioned that they haven’t received a complaint on the noise in he-didn’t-know-how-long.
So, this is an awesome idea, but who pays for it? Nobody knew. Some talk about employing a grant-writer was tossed around, but then the question came up: who’s land is the facility housed on? The City’s? The County’s? Some willing or perhaps absent private citizen? It was remarked that to even talk to a grant-writer, they would need three times as much as what they have available in their checking account. Donations anyone?
Last night was talk about an issue that needed a solution. The solution seems apparent, but the means by which to get there is still very cloudy. This was actually the first meeting discussed about this particular project indicating that there will be plenty more, and also indicating that at this time, the pipe project is not much more than a pipe dream.
On a side note, no formal discussion was made of the new Grand Lagoon Bridge, but it was remarked to me at some point in the evening that the ground breaking would take place before the end of the month.
If you’re familiar with the Panama City Beach area then you know that the beautiful (sarcasm), yet archaic Grand Lagoon Bridge is and has been badly in need of replacement. Having been built in the 50’s, it is time to be out with the old and in with the new. The planning has been in the works for years, but funding has always been the question. So, thanks to some stimulus funds, we’re good to go. Here are the top 9 things to know about the new Grand Lagoon Bridge, and the construction process.
Restaurant owners and Marinas come together to make history on historic Grand Lagoon.
July 4, 2009 Panama City Beach, FL: Capt. Anderson’s restaurant, Boatyard restaurant, The Treasure Ship restaurant, Lighthouse Marina and Pirates Cover Marina are reaching deep in their pockets to celebrate the 4th of July in spectacular fashion on Grand Lagoon. “We’re making a little history on this historic old Lagoon,” said Sparky Sparkman, co-owner of Boatyard restaurant, “We have hired an awesome pyrotechnic group from Tennessee, Pyro Shows, Inc; these guys are going to put on an amazing show!” (www.pyroshows.com)
According to Lansden E. Hill, Jr., President and CEO of Pyro Shows, Inc., the Grand Lagoon fireworks show will begin at approximately 8:30pm.
“It’s going to be better than going to Disney,” according to Lisa Todd of the Treasure Ship, “I wish we had it back when I was a kid. Can you imagine? Especially here at the Ship – we’ve got pirates running around a big wooden ship, face painting going on – and then you add fireworks to the picture! Amazing!”
Steve Counts, of Counts Real Estate Group said, “Grand Lagoon is the perfect place for a fireworks show. I don’t know why we waited so long to do it! You’ve got the three marinas… Treasure Island Marina, Pirate’s Cove Marina and Lighthouse Marina… and the best restaurants on the beach lining the lagoon, with docks all the way around. There’s plenty of parking and tons of places for people to watch the show.”
“We’ve been here on the lagoon since 1967, and there’s never been a fireworks show on the 4th,” reported Yonnie Patrons of Capt. Anderson’s restaurant. “When we had the kick off for Grand Lagoon National Tournament last year, we got a taste of what it could be when Bill Spann did the fireworks for that event, and we’ve all been talking about it ever since … how nice it would be to have fireworks for the 4th. A lot of planning, a lot of work, and a lot of money has gone into it, and we’re all very excited about it. It’s been a lot of fun working with all our neighbors here on the lagoon to make it happen, too. I think this show will be the closest you can get to the actual fireworks action, and I really believe it will become the number one fireworks celebration in Northwest Florida – so, a lot of people are looking forward to being a part of history; they can say they were there the first time the FIRST 4th of July fireworks lit up the sky over Grand Lagoon!”
“The fireworks will be launched from a platform at the center of the lagoon, so you have a spectacular 360 degree view. You can watch from a waterfront table at Capt. Anderson’s… or pick a seat, upstairs or down, at the Boatyard… I think our friends at The Treasure Ship may have the most spectacular views… they’ve got Hooks dockside, the Main Dining Room with those incredible floor to ceiling windows and, then, they have the very top of the ship – you can see the whole lagoon from up there,” Toni Davis of Boatyard explained, “Of course, we’ve got great views from Boatyard, too! We don’t usually do reservations at Boatyard, but we’ve had so many requests for waterfront tables on the 4th since the word got out about the fireworks. But, you don’t need a reservation to find a great spot on the docks to watch the show – or, you can come by boat.”
If you’ve been curious about the huge new development on Thomas drive south of Magnolia and Winn Dixie, we’ve got you covered. But first, some back-story;
Over the last year, if you taken a drive down North Thomas Drive you’ve no doubt noticed major new developments beginning at the turn off Hathaway Bridge down to Grand Lagoon Bridge. You’ve seen more restaurants, banks, grocery stores and retail shopping centers added to the area community. Those updates may be but appetizers to a main-developmental-course. Stimulus money in the sum of $18.5 million and a combination of state and local funds, will be used to expand Grand Lagoon Bridge. The bridge will expand from 150ft to 250ft widening it from two lanes to four and increasing the height over water from 10 to 18ft.
For the last 18 months, planning has been taking place on the bridge expansion, but no funds had been earmarked leaving no definitive timeline for construction. However, with funding tentatively secured, we should begin to see some timelines released. The heightening will be a huge improvement as the current height has been historically limiting to the type and size of boat that property owners on the east side of Grand Lagoon could own.
Stimulus funds will also widen the adjacent North Lagoon feed into Thomas drive into a five-lane highway with room for bike-lanes and sidewalks down to Bristol Street. The area near Grand Lagoon has always been popular with locals, but the planned Grand Lagoon expansion may be an even greater pull for the tourism base as well, which brings us back to the original mystery.
That area being mowed down near Magnolia Beach Road and Winn Dixie is making room for a new restaurant. Another restaurant, whoop dee doo, right? Well, the type of restaurant and the space being allotted for it may surprise you. The huge area is making way for Jasmine Thai Restaurant. This isn’t big news until you consider that a Thai restaurant, somewhat unconventional for Panama City Beach, decided to purchase a long-sitting commercial lot to compete with the likes of Captain Anderson’s and the Treasure Ship. Not only will it compete, but from the looks of it, it has high expectations as three-fifths of the land is being flattened strictly for parking.
Future developments may become a trend if tourist traffic to that area is increased due to the Grand Lagoon Bridge expansion and proof of the location’s economic lure. With the addition of The Saki House II, Hooters, Donut Island and Bruster’s Ice Cream just north, what may have been a jewel area for locals could turn out to be Panama City Beach’s most eclectic and busiest dining experience for tourists. With the revival of the “West-End,” we may see a huge shot in the arm of Panama City Beach’s “East-End.”
Bay County Planning Department did not have a projected completion date or a total square footage but did acknowledged that the restaurant needed a variance for the parking and based on design the restaurant itself will be 50% kitchen and 50% seating, an unusual ratio for the type of establishment.
PCBDaily 