Update on Alf Coleman road project

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - When it rains it pours, and one local road always tends to flood.

“The road is saturated and so that is why they’re in poor conditions,” Scott Passmore, the Panama City Beach CRA Assistant Project Manager said.

Passmore tells us when rain accumulates on the road, it becomes a problem for everyone. But he tells NewsChannel 7 the city has a solution.

“The road is always under water so it can’t perform well. One way we’re mitigating that is raising the road and constructing the base in a portion,” Passmore said.

Officials said Alf Coleman will be raised 14 inches higher than it is currently.

“We also have a drainage improvement we’re doing,” Passmore said.

One contributor to Alf Coleman’s flooding is the two wetlands next to the road.

“On Alf Coleman, the pipes work as equalizers so it will allow the water to drain over a much larger area it’s a closed water basin which fills up the wetlands,” Passmore said.

Officials tell us to help mitigate the flooding issue not only will they be raising the road, but they’ll also be using an asphalt base.

“Which is a more resilient base material to resist the high-water table,” Passmore said.

Passmore says they are focused on two things for the project.

“Get the road the highest we can out of the water for the 100-year flood and make the road more resistant to flooding,” Passmore said.

The city’s CRA recently opened bids for the Alf Coleman Road project.

“We’re in the process of evaluating them for an award of the contractor to the lowest responsible contractor,” Passmore said.

In a few months, officials say they will start construction. Passmore tells us the project is 289 calendar days.

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