FORT WALTON BEACH — Drivers traveling through one of Fort Walton Beach’s busiest and most crash-prone intersections will soon notice significant changes.
Beginning Tuesday, June 16, city crews and contractors will begin modifying traffic patterns at the intersection of Beal Parkway and First Street, limiting all movements at the intersection to right turns only.
The City of Fort Walton Beach announced that work crews will install traffic separators and re-stripe traffic lines on June 16 and June 17. The turn lane and inside northbound lane of Beal Parkway near First Street will be closed from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. both days while crews complete the work.
Once construction is finished, drivers traveling eastbound or westbound on First Street will only be able to turn right onto Beal Parkway. Motorists will no longer be able to drive straight through the intersection. Likewise, drivers traveling northbound or southbound on Beal Parkway will no longer be able to make left turns onto First Street.
Flexible barrier posts will be installed to physically prevent vehicles from crossing opposing traffic lanes.
City officials say the changes are intended to improve safety at an intersection with a long history of serious crashes.
According to a traffic study conducted for the city, 35 crashes occurred at the intersection between 2017 and 2022. Twenty-eight of those crashes were right-angle, or T-bone, collisions. Nine crashes resulted in injuries that required at least one person to be transported to a medical facility.
Fort Walton Beach Police Chief Robert Bage said the intersection remains one of the city’s most dangerous locations for motorists.
“The intersection of Beal Parkway and First Street is one of the highest crash locations in the City of Fort Walton Beach,” Bage said.
Bage noted that a 2022 traffic study recommended installing a six-phase traffic signal at the intersection. However, funding for that project has not been identified.
Instead, city officials partnered with the Florida Department of Transportation to implement the right-turn-only configuration as an interim safety measure.
“This should improve traffic safety in the area,” Bage said.
The need for improvements appears to be growing. According to the city, 26 crashes have occurred at the intersection during the last 12 months alone as motorists increasingly use the route as an alternative to U.S. Highway 98.
Drivers are encouraged to use caution in the area during construction and prepare for the new traffic pattern once the changes take effect.
