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Gayle's Trails Gets Additional Funding
Panama City Beach has received an additional $1.718 million grant for the expansion of Gayle's Trails from the Florida Department of Transportation's Suntrail Grant Program. The total funding the city has received from the program for the project to date is around $2.6 million in total. Panama City Beach will now only have to pay about $78,000 to complete the project. The project must be completed by May 31, 2024, or the city will lose the funding.
The Gayle's Trails project seeks to provide a connector for neighborhoods, making it safer for walkers, cyclists and runners. Gayle's Trails includes five miles that stretch up State 79 and across the West Bay Bridge, more than three miles within Frank Brown Park and more than one mile in Aaron Bessant Park. The trail also connects about 30 miles of additional trails within Panama City Beach Conservation Park.
The grant money will not allow for the east end of the project to now be completed. The new segment will stretch east of Colony Club to Breakfast Point and link Breakfast Point and Arnold High School.
In February, the Panama City Beach City Council approved a more than $2.7 million contract with C.W. Roberts to add 1.5 miles to Gayle's Trails. C.W. Roberts was one of three companies that submitted bids with Panama City Beach for the project.
Gayle's Trails were named for former Panama City Beach Mayor Gayle Oberst. Construction of the walking trails began in 1998 at Frank Brown Park and has continued to expand over the years to include several miles of asphalt and paved pathways.
PCB's City Council Greenlights Alf Coleman Rd Project
The Panama City Beach City Council has approved a $5.3 million contract to revamp Alf Coleman Road to resolve chronic flooding problems and improve drainage in the area. The contract was awarded to Gulf Coast Utility Contractors in mid-April. Construction will soon began on the project.
The key focus of the Alf Coleman project is to improve pedestrian safety and getting the road out of the 100-year flood plain so it does not flood during normal rainfall.
The half a mile project will raise the roadway between Hutchison Boulevard and Panama City Beach Parkway. At its highest point the road will be raised approximately 14 inches.
The CRA was formed in 2001 with the goal of installing upgraded features along Front Beach Road and its connecting roadways. The project is part of the city's Front Beach Road Community Redevelopment Area Plan (CRA), which is managed by the Corradino Group.
Officials say construction is slated to start in May 2024 and last at least 289 calendar days.
The project is expected to be funded entirely by grants from both the Florida Division of Emergency Management and Florida Department of Transportation.
