$1-million FDOT grant accepted for planned widening of Honore Avenue from Fruitville Road to 17th Street

Project timeline remains uncertain

This graphic shows the section of Honroe Avenue where the widening is planned. Image courtesy Sarasota County

In unanimously approving their Consent Agenda of routine business matters, as part of their regular meeting on May 20, the Sarasota County commissioners accepted a $1-million grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) that will be used for the acquisition of right of way for the planned widening of Honore Avenue from Fruitville Road to north of 17th Street in Sarasota.

The county has to contribute $2 million as a match for that award, a county staff memo pointed out. The match will be made up as follows: $1.8 million out of the funds in the county’s penny sales tax — or Surtax — program that have been dedicated to transportation initiatives; $100,000 from Mobility Impact Fee revenue; and $100,000 from Road Impact Fee collections, the memo explained.

Altogether, that memo noted, the estimated cost of the right of way is $3 million.

The acquisition of the right of way is expected to be completed by the end of December 2026, the memo added. “The start of construction may take up to five years, depending on the availability of funding,” the memo noted.

The commissioners seated in October 2021 approved a contract with the Kimley-Horn consulting firm in Sarasota for the design of Honore project, the memo pointed out.

The total width of the widened portion of Honore Avenue will be 1.325 miles, as noted in the formal grant agreement with FDOT.

Rep. Fiona McFarland. File image

Last year, state Rep. Fiona McFarland, R-Sarasota, requested a state appropriation of $2 million for the undertaking. Gov. Ron DeSantis ended up approving the $1-million allocation that made it into the state’s 2025 fiscal year budget. That money was included in FDOT’s overall budget for the current fiscal year, which began on July 1, 2024.

The document that McFarland submitted to legislative staff explained, “The project consists of the widening Honore Avenue from Fruitville Road to North of 17th St. Street, a distance of approximately 1.1 miles. Intersection improvements will include Fruitville Road, expanding the roundabout at Richardson Road from a single lane roundabout to a multilane roundabout, and converting the existing signalized intersection at Honore Avenue and 17th St. to a multilane-roundabout. A connection to the Legacy Trail is included from 17th. St. north to the [county’s 17th Street] Park.”

Further, that legislative document noted, the affected section of Honore Avenue “is over capacity …”

Materials prepared for the County Commission’s May 21 budget workshop listed the Honore project as a “High” priority among the Capital Projects Department’s plans. The chart did not include an estimate for the completion of the undertaking.