PANAMA CITY — Buildings on the bay side of Gulf Coast State College’s campus are being spruced up in anticipation of traffic changes that will come during construction of the U.S. 98 flyover.
This summer, the Florida Department of Transportation will start working on the 30-foot high flyover that will provide a bypass for the Port of Panama City entrance and the intersection at 23rd Street.
GCSC is along that route and will be affected by the flyover. Buildings are being renovated during the project to focus to the north side of the campus, which faces the bay, Mercer said.
During and after construction, more emphasis will be placed on the Collegiate Drive entrance, which begins at the new Advanced Technology Center and Bill Frazier Baseball Field.
The work is scheduled to start in August, but already the large Gulf Coast symbol on 23rd Street and some trees on campus have been taken down.
Around 30 or 40 parking spots at the college may be lost, GCSC Vice President of Administration and Finance John Mercer said. With the campus undergoing redesign, some parking spots initially will be lost during construction but will be picked back up when work is finished.
With the project intended to deal with traffic that often accumulates on U.S. 98 in front of Gulf Coast, the administration at the college said coming to and from Gulf Coast may be a bit of a hassle during construction.
During construction, a temporary diversion for U.S. 98 will be constructed on the south side of 98 to accommodate traffic flow while the bridge is being built. That diversion will last for two years.
An additional westbound lane will be added to the diversion for traffic coming from 23rd Street toward the Hathaway Bridge. Other construction work includes bicycle lanes, sidewalks, drainage, stormwater treatment facilities and signalization upgrades.
The connection from Alabama Street to U.S. 98 will be permanently closed due to construction of a stormwater pond. Side streets such as Palmetto, Stephens and Brown will be closed temporarily for drainage and tie-in work during construction.
The construction work on the flyover is anticipated to finish in fall 2018.
“It’s going to be exciting,” Mercer said of the project.
Mercer and Gulf Coast President John Holdnak have discussed the possibility of a campus parking garage, but that is not their favorite option.
Gulf Coast will deal with construction for a while, Mercer said. During construction, students will be alerted of closures and other issues through text message alerts and email. Mercer said FDOT has been cooperative with the college during the project and that FDOT was interested in not trying to harm the college.
While construction is underway, Holdnak said his advice for those coming to Gulf Coast is to arrive a bit early.
The goal of the project is to stop “bottlenecks” in traffic, Holdnak said.
“It will help a lot,” he said.