PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (WMBB) — The long-anticipated Back Beach Road expansion project is officially underway.

“This place isn’t a secret anymore,” Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Spokesperson Ian Satter said. “People love to come visit here. People come to live here. Work here. So we’re seeing that trend. We’re seeing the traffic numbers rising.”

More people than ever are coming to Panama City Beach, and FDOT officials said Back Beach Road needs to accommodate the increased traffic. 

“If we can reduce congestion on that roadway, then we can improve safety,” Satter said. “And that’s always going to be our number one priority.”

Work began on September 11th, on the first segment. 

The project is broken up into three segments. The first segment begins at Frank Brown Park and continues two miles to the Busy Bee at the corner of Nautilus Street.

 “Next month we’ll see that second segment begin that will go from Nautilus to Richard Jackson,” Satter said. “So while there’s two projects going on.”

While Back Beach is under construction the speed limit in many areas will be reduced from 45 to 35 miles per hour. 

To help maintain traffic flow all four will remain open and a majority of work will be done at night. 

“Drivers who are normally out there during our peak hours may not see construction equipment or workers out there,” Satter said.

The first two segments are expected to cost $110 million and take four years to complete. 

“Drivers who are normally out there during our peak hours may not see construction equipment or workers out there,” Satter said.

“As we get close to wrapping up these first two widening projects, that third project will begin,” Satter said.

The third section stretching from Richard Jackson Boulevard to the Hathaway Bridge will start in 2026. 

When complete Back Beach Road will be six lanes wide, and have bike lanes, and sidewalks.

Residents said they hope the construction is completed in a timely manner. 

“It’s a really good idea,” Corey Paolillo said. “It’s going to be annoying while. It’s happening, but in the end, I think it’s going to be very beneficial for the area to decrease the traffic around here.”

Click here for more information on the Back Beach Construction Project.