PANAMA CITY — A portion of Baldwin Road will close for 45 days this summer if the Bay County Commission approves of a $837,258 change order to add to a widening project.
The change order to be discussed at Tuesday’s County Commission meeting would pay for replacing the roadway, adding bike lanes and a sidewalk from Minnesota Avenue to Kirkwell Avenue.
Bay County Public Works Director Ken Schnell said the road closure in this segment would occur when school is out.
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“We’ll have to reroute traffic,” Schnell said.
He said this segment of road will have to be closed, unlike others being widened along Baldwin Road, during construction because of poor soil conditions. He said the existing base and subgrade of the road is being removed down to 3 feet and then replaced, and it is being topped off with new pavement.
“There are all kinds of big dips in the road. There are poor soil conditions under the road,” he said.
He said new lanes are not being added to this segment of the project because it would require a significant investment.
“It goes over a big wetland,” Schnell said.
On May 6, the commission awarded a design-build contract for $3.57 million to Roberts & Roberts Contracting Inc. for the third phase of the Baldwin Road widening project, beginning at Harrison Avenue and extending east of Minnesota Avenue, where the road is being widened to four lanes.
Project funding was provided from the state’s Transportation Regional Incentive Program (TRIP) grants, with the county match being provided by donated right of way, construction inspecting and funding.
On Aug. 19, the commission approved of the second increment of TRIP funding for the third phase of the project that expanded the project from Minnesota Avenue to Kirkwell Avenue. The county can take advantage of cost savings by doing the additional work from Minnesota Avenue to Kirkwell Avenue through a change order, Schnell said.
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“It is better to do this via a change order since we already have a design-build contractor on board who is designing the segment that goes up to Minnesota Avenue,” he said. “We gain savings through reductions in mobilization costs for contractors and having a consistent design throughout the project.”
The widening work in the first two phases of the project already have been completed from Harrison Avenue to State 390.
Tuesday’s meeting is at 9 a.m. at 840 W. 11th St.
Other action
The commission also is scheduled to:
- Conduct a public hearing and adopt amendments to the Bay County Code regarding code enforcement, nuisance and blighted property. The existing code has several provisions on nuisance scattered throughout different chapters. “It would be more efficient and understandable if all of the various nuisance provisions were merged into one section,” a county staff report states. The proposed ordinance takes existing sections on litter, junk cars and unsafe structures and merges them into one chapter called “nuisance,” which is enforced by the Code Enforcement Board.
- Conduct a public hearing to consider adopting a proposed large-scale comprehensive plan amendment to the Department of Economic Opportunity for analysis. The amendment is to the Water Supply Facilities Work Plan. The amendment outlines population estimates used in planning for water systems. “It is prudent for the county and the Northwest Florida Water Management District to have similar population estimates in planning documents,” a memo to the commission from staff states.