Board members affirm that for staff during recent budget workshop
A year ago in May, the Sarasota County commissioners seated at that time made it clear to County Administrator Jonathan Lewis and other staff members that their top road priority is the construction of a four-lane Lorraine Road south from Clark Road to Knights Trail Road in the Venice area.
That did not change on May 21, when Public Works Director Spencer Anderson discussed road projects that are included in the county’s Surtax 4 Program, which receives its revenue from an extra penny of sales tax.
Focused on a slide that Anderson had included in the presentation, Chair Joe Neunder sought clarity on the status of the plans for the extension of Lorraine Road, as the slide indicated part of the route would have two lanes only.
Originally, Anderson pointed out, the proposal was to construct four lanes of Lorraine Road south from Clark Road to the State Road 681 interchange and then two lanes from there to Knights Trail Road. The commissioners in May 2024 did stress the need for four lanes all the way to Knights Trail Road, Anderson added, so that remains staff’s plan.
The slide had not been updated, Anderson acknowledged.
“Very good,” Neunder responded to the information about the project’s entailing four lanes for the entire 1.38-mile-long segment.
Anderson also pointed out that staff has continued to work with three landowners on portions of that road construction. The developer of the Skye Ranch communities — on property that previously was known as LT Ranch — is widening the first segment from two to four lanes, he said.
Staff also is working with Neal Communities on an agreement regarding the 2 miles of the project on the former 3H Ranch land, Anderson said. In August 2024, the developer won County Commission approval of the necessary rezoning to construct up to 6,567 homes on that property.
The draft road agreement with Neal Communities likely will be coming to the commissioners for approval in a few months, he added.
The last segment of the four-lane Lorraine Road south will run from Palmer Ranch to Knights Trail Road, Anderson noted. (A $3-million grant from the Legislature for work on that section of the road is pending final action on the state budget for the 2026 fiscal year, a workshop slide said.)
During his May 21 remarks, Anderson also noted that the commissioners last year “decided to move roughly $34 million from the Cattlemen [Road] and Proctor Road projects” to the budgets for their top four priorities. Along with the Lorraine Road south segment, those are as follows:
- The widening of Fruitville Road from two to four lanes from the Debrecen Road intersection to the Lorraine Road intersection. Anderson said he believed that staff that week had issued offers to purchase the necessary right of way for that undertaking.
- The construction of four lanes of Lorraine Road from Fruitville Road to Palmer Boulevard. All the county utility lines that would have been affected already have been moved, Anderson said, which should speed up that initiative. (The county has a pending $2.5-million allocation from the Legislature this year for this project, as noted in a slide prepared for the budget workshop. However, as with the Lorraine Road initiative above, the slide explains that the funding is “contingent on final legislative action.”)
Moreover, Anderson noted, a large ditch runs alongside Lorraine from Fruitville to Palmer. Staff has the option of using some of the sediment that will be removed from Phillippi Creek to fill that ditch, he added, which will represent a cost efficiency.
- The widening of Cattlemen Road from the Fruitville Road intersection to the Palmer Boulevard intersection from two to four lanes.
Commissioner Teresa Mast told Anderson, “I know that internal costs continue to increase — sometimes, I think, daily. I know it has a significant impact on the start time for these projects,” she added. “But is there any way … we could expedite [the work on the top four]?”
Staff could look into that, Anderson replied. Staff is making use of public-private partnerships whenever possible, he added, which saves time, along with money. “The developers can go in and get work done more efficiently than we can, just because [of] government bureaucracy,” Anderson said.
“The public-private partnership with these developers that can do roads — it’s hugely important,” Chair Neunder pointed out.
He was happy that Mast had brought that up, he added.
A public-private partnership may be possible with the Fruitville initiative, too, Anderson said.
During a rescheduled public hearing held in May on one of the planned project areas of Lakewood Ranch Southeast — which will be constructed in the eastern part of the county — the project team attorney, Caleb Grimes of Bradenton — reminded the commissioners that Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (SMR), the master developer of Lakewood Ranch, “is going to assist the county to get Fruitville widened in the stretch that is adjacent to [its] property …”
With approval that day of Project Area 2, SMR agreed to pre-pay $4 million in Mobility Impact Fees “to get things started,” Grimes said.
Moreover, Grimes pointed out to the board on May 6, “Right of way is always a very, very difficult proposition, as you know. [SMR] will work with the county because [it has] a lot of … land along Fruitville Road.” Thus, all of the property needed for the right of way in accord with the plans to widen another section of Fruitville could come from SMR’s property holdings on the north side of the road, alleviating concerns about county acquisition of any land to the south of Fruitville, Grimes said.
On May 21, referring to the widening of Fruitville Road east of the Lorraine Road intersection, Commissioner Ron Cutsinger told Anderson, “Let’s make it actually happen. … That has got to get done.”
Over the past several years, whenever the County Commission has conducted a hearing on a land-use issue involving Fruitville Road access, East County residents, especially, have complained about the growing congestion on the road. A number of times, people have shown the board members videos to underscore their concerns.
“Whatever you need on this, Spencer,” Cutsinger continued on May 21, “I think you hear this commission [stressing] urgency …” Perhaps one option, he suggested, would be to issue bonds that would be paid back by the Surtax 4 revenue.
“I think we’re almost at wit’s end on this,” Cutsinger said, adding that he hoped Anderson understood the board’s position.
“Absolutely,” Anderson responded.
County roads’ level of service
On a related issue, Anderson told the commissioners, “Over 90% of our roads … are meeting [the county’s adopted level of service].” That is D, he said.
In fact, Anderson continued, the figure probably is closer to 95%.
A level of service (LOS) of A or B, he noted, indicates a “very open road,” with plenty of capacity, while E and F indicate heavy congestion.
He did show the commissioners a slide listing the roads that have a level of service of F. Among them are Fruitville Road from Sarasota Center Boulevard to Lorraine Road; University Parkway from Honore Avenue to Cooper Creek; and Tuttle Avenue from University Parkway to Desoto Road.
Several of the F segments are on Siesta Key, including Midnight Pass Road from the Beach Road intersection to the Stickney Point Road intersection; Higel Avenue from Siesta Drive to Midnight Pass Road; Siesta Drive from Higel to the north drawbridge to the island; and Siesta Drive from the north bridge to the Osprey Avenue intersection in the city of Sarasota.