SHALIMAR — Construction fatigue be gone.
With a great rumbling of heavy machinery and tactical maneuvering of large concrete barriers, crews working on Eglin Parkway will exit phase one of their ever inconvenient project this week and usher in phase two.
In the second phase, attention will shift from the middle of Eglin, where large drainage pipes now have been installed, to the southbound lanes, where feeder pipes running west off the big ones will be laid.
“The construction contractor plans to shift Eglin Parkway southbound traffic to the center portion of the roadway,” according to a news release from the Florida Department of Transportation.
DOT spokesman Ian Satter said last month he hoped the change of scenery might diminish “construction fatigue” he blamed for sparking complaints as the project reached its seventh month.
Satter said Friday that crews have pledged to move phases two and three along quickly to meet the springtime deadline to complete the work.
“The construction people on site are continually looking for ways to move the project along much more quickly,” Satter said. “We’re doing everything we can to make sure phase 2 and phase 3 move along at a much quicker pace.”
With Eglin’s southbound lanes closed, traffic will be diverted to the middle of the road. Motorists will continue to be limited to two lanes northbound and southbound, DOT spokeswoman Tanya Branton said.
Access to businesses will be maintained at all times, according to the DOT. As before, left turns and U-turns will be permitted only at the Shalimar Drive/Cherokee Road and Ninth Avenue/Erwin Fleet Road traffic signals.
The drainage work is scheduled to continue into March and April, the news release said.
For more information and the latest traffic advisories, visit www.MyEglinParkway.com.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Tom McLaughlin at 850-315-4435 or tmclaughlin@nwfdailynews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomMnwfdn.