LYNN HAVEN — A busy intersection in Lynn Haven that has seen several rear-end collisions is getting a new turn lane.
The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has agreed to provide funding for the design of the County 389 intersection improvement project, which involves adding a turn lane on northbound County 389 for traffic turning left onto East 26th Street.
The Bay County Commission approved a local agency program agreement with FDOT last week in which the state is funding $52,500 for the design work of the intersection improvements, with that work being completed by August of 2015.
Bay County Traffic Engineering Manager Keith Bryant said it could take a year and a half for construction to be completed, and the construction funds are coming from FDOT’s work program. An exact project cost has not yet been identified.
“This will give a safe place for the vehicles that are making a left-hand turn,” Bryant said.
He said left turn lanes reduce rear-end collisions.
“It will defintely be a safety improvement for the intersection,” he said.
He said the intersection improvements will enhance the safety of the roadway for many students traveling back and forth to Mosley High School.
Tim Kitts, the chief education officer at Bay Haven Charter Academy on Hawks Landing Boulevard near the intersection, said he was pleased to hear about the project, saying it should help improve traffic flow.
“You have a lot of traffic turning left on 26th Street,” he said. “It backs up traffic dramatically during certain periods of the day.”
He said he would also like to see a right turn lane onto 26th Street as part of the project.
The Academy of Dance and Performing Arts is also near the intersection.
Angie Powell, who helps out at the academy, said she has mixed feelings about the project.
“If there was a left turn lane, it would prevent rear-end collisions on 389, but it would not help traffic trying to get onto 389 from 26th Street. It would probably make it worse,” she said.