Grand Lagoon Bridge Replacement Information

Built in the 1950's the Grand Lagoon Bridge in the Panama City Beach area has been badly in need of replacement.  Planning has been in the works for years and now with some stimulus funds, replacement will begin fall of 2009. Below is some information on the replacement process.

• New bridge construction will begin sometime in September.  Bids for construction just went out last week and are due in July 31, 2009, and with construction expected to begin within 4 to 6 weeks of final bids submission. 
• Access over Grand Lagoon will remain intact throughout the duration of the construction of the new bridge.  A temporary bridge will be erected to the west of the existing bridge which is expected to take 1 to 2 months.  Once the temporary bridge is up traffic will switch to it and demolition of the existing bridge will begin.
• Total construction time of the new bridge is expected to be around 18 months.  This time frame includes construction of the temporary bridge and the widening of Thomas Drive from North Lagoon Drive to the bridge, then from the bridge south to Bristol Street.
• The estimated cost of the entire project (bridge and Thomas Drive widening) is around $18.5 million.  Currently, Bay County has $19,462,409 to fund this project with $5,629,822 from local stimulus funds, $9,299,990 from state stimulus funds and $4,532,597 from grants that Bay County has been working on for years.  Based on the cost estimate, Bay County has all the money necessary to fund the entire project.
• The new bridge will be 4 lanes total, two lanes of traffic traveling each direction and will stretch 250 feet across Grand Lagoon over three span structures.  Each span will be 83 feet 4 inches long.  In addition, on the outside of the lanes traveling in each direction will be a bicycle lane and pedestrian walkway.  The automobile lanes will be 12 feet in width, the bicycle lanes will be 5 foot 6 inches, and the pedestrian walkways will be 6 feet.  The total width of the new bridge will be 73 feet 6 inches, including 2 feet and 6 inches of outside barrier. The existing bridge is only 10 feet above the water, severely limiting the boat size that has access to the residential section of Grand Lagoon.  The new bridge will rest 18 feet above the water.
• Right now, Bay County is considering walkways to accommodate fishing and other recreational activities under the bridge both on the north and south side of the lagoon. 
• The existing roadway that feeds the north and south side of the Grand Lagoon Bridge is only 2 lanes with a center turn lane, but the new wider roadway will be 5 lanes total.  With four 11 foot lanes and a 12 foot center turn lane, the new widened section of Thomas Drive will also include bicycle and pedestrian walkways, to continue the ease of passage for business foot commuters and bicyclers from the bridge.
• The bridge will remain open to marine traffic for the duration of construction, with the exception of when the new spans are installed for the new bridge.  At that time, the waterway closure will be coordinated with the US Coast Guard and local commercial marine businesses.  Once the new bridge is complete, the waterway opening will increase to 218 feet with the maximum navigational width between the center span increasing to 72 feet 4 inches.
• The existing bridge structure was built originally in 1952 and sustained damage in 1995 during hurricane Opal.  It has been cited to have irreparable damage and is badly in need of replacement.  Currently the bridge is a 6 span structure that is 150 feet wide.

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