The Bannerman Road widening project is officially in the finalization of its design phase, according to Leon County Commissioner Brian Welch - District 4.

The project, which was approved in 2014 and expanded in 2020, is expected to break ground in late 2023.

The final engineering report for the project was published in late 2021, and the design phase began this past February, using a Traffic Feasibility Analysis and input from the public.

The project has three primary segments to improve and widen the road, including the following steps:

Segment 1 — North Meridian Road to Preservation Road:

Create two lanes to support a two-lane roadway.

Create a median.

Create multimodal and stormwater improvements

Segment 2 —  Preservation Road to Tekesta Drive:

Widen the road to have four lanes with multimodal and stormwater improvements.

Segment 3 — Tekesta Drive to Thomasville Road:

Widen road to have four lanes with multimodal and stormwater improvements

After the design is completed, the plans will be presented to the Blueprint Intergovernmental Agency Board for approval and receiving permits, as well as acquiring right-of-way and engineering processes can begin.

Once the widening project is completed, Leon County has plans to extend the sidewalk project along the length of Bull Headley Road to complement the road widening.