Members of public criticize timing of initiatives
This week, drivers who regularly use State Road 789 between downtown Sarasota and Longboat Key began contending with the first of two Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) projects that will affect the route, as both the state agency and the City of Sarasota have advised the public.
First, on Jan. 5, an FDOT contractor was to start work on a project between Sunset Drive and Bird Key Drive, which will include the addition of dedicated bicycle and transit lanes on the Ringling Causeway Bridge and drainage upgrades, along with raising the seawall cap near Sunset Drive, FDOT explained in a news release.
The goal, an FDOT fact sheet indicated, is “to reduce travel times between downtown and the barrier islands.”
Even after the late 2022 completion of the roundabout at Gulfstream Avenue and U.S. 41, drivers have continued to complain about the volume of traffic between St. Armands and downtown Sarasota, as The Sarasota News Leader has learned through social media posts.
Among the other planned activities for this first initiative will be the resurfacing of “the roadway throughout the project corridor and the installation of new traffic signals at the intersections of Sunset Drive, Golden Gate Drive, and Bird Key Drive,” FDOT reported. Further, workers will relocate palm trees and small shrubs from their locations on the eastern side of the John Ringling Causeway to medians closer to St. Armands Circle, FDOT said.
The $12.3-million project is expected to be completed in early 2027, the agency added.
Mobilization of construction equipment — including the delivery of machinery and materials — was expected to begin on Jan. 5, FDOT noted. Additionally, this week was to see the installation of maintenance of traffic (MOT) signs and devices and temporary pedestrian paths around the work zone, as well as clearing within the right of way and the placement of erosion-control devices, FDOT pointed out.
Moreover, among the initial efforts will be the construction of a temporary roadway for use during subsequent phases. “This work will not impact existing travel lane configuration,” FDOT noted.
“Lane closures will be in place during various phases of the project,” FDOT continued. Construction will take place primarily during daytime hours, FDOT added, though “occasional nighttime work” will be necessary.
The FDOT fact sheet noted that nighttime lane closures will occur between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Further, FDOT is warning drivers that, during construction, “the speed limit on Gulfstream Avenue and John Ringling Causeway (S.R. 789) will be reduced to 35 mph.” FDOT also emphasized, “Speeding fines are doubled in the construction zone when workers are present.
“Motorists are urged to drive cautiously and watch for workers, construction vehicles, pickup trucks, and other equipment entering or exiting travel lanes,” FDOT advised the public.
“Expect noise from backup alarms, construction equipment, pumps, and power tools during daytime and nighttime operations,” the agency added in its news release.
For more information and project updates, visit www.swflroads.com/project/445926-2.
Installation of new speed tables on St. Armands Circle
The second project slated for State Road 789 will be the replacement of the “eight modular speed humps [on St. Armands Key] with new asphalt speed tables designed to calm traffic and improve safety for residents, visitors, and nearby neighborhoods,” FDOT has announced.
That undertaking is anticipated to begin on Jan. 13, the agency noted, “weather permitting.”
With this initiative, FDOT said, the “contractor will conduct the operations at night to limit traffic impacts on the Circle and surrounding residential areas.”
“Over time,” FDOT explained, “normal vehicle wear caused pavement distress beneath these humps. Crews will resurface those small areas to create a smooth, even roadway surface. New asphalt speed tables will then be placed as part of the same nighttime operation.”
FDOT expects that it will take about 10 days for the new asphalt to “cure,” the agency pointed out. Then, permanent pavement markings can be applied.
“During this period, the roadway will be open to traffic, and no new construction work will occur other than maintaining temporary markings,” the agency added.
After the curing period is over, FDOT continued, crews will return to the Circle to “install final thermoplastic pavement markings and remove the temporary markings.”
FDOT noted, “The full process will take approximately 12 or more days, weather permitting …” However, it explained, “Very cold temperatures or rain may delay asphalt placement.”
This project also will entail lane closures from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., FDOT said. “Travelers should use caution in the work zone and allow extra time when passing through the area,” it pointed out.
“FDOT encourages drivers to check FL511.com before heading out for real-time traffic conditions and construction updates,” the agency said.
The St. Armands project “is part of FDOT’s ongoing commitment to improving safety along high-use corridors,” that news release explained.
“These new asphalt speed tables will help slow vehicles and create a more comfortable and predictable environment for everyone traveling through the St. Armands area,” John Kubler, FDOT District One’s director of transportation operations, said in the release. “Safety is always our top priority,” he added. “Performing this work at night helps us deliver these improvements while minimizing disruption to residents, businesses, and visitors.”
Public consternation over timing of the State Road 789 work
In an email to Sarasota City Commissioner Jen Ahearn-Koch and on the City of Sarasota’s Facebook page, the News Leader has read complaints about FDOT’s scheduling of the first project on State Road 789.
In the Dec. 31 email, an individual asked Ahearn-Koch to “[p]lease inform everyone” about the reason that initiative “is starting just as we enter the busy season causing additional delays!!”
On Jan. 2, Ahearn-Koch replied that that was “exactly what I asked … and the response is that the project is projected to last a year, so some construction will occur during season but the beginning phase (now) is not expected to impact travel lanes just yet and when it does, it is my understanding, that this work will occur at night.”
She added, “This work is expected to raise that section of roadway between the [Gulfstream Avenue/U.S. 41] roundabout and base of the bridge [which] is a low point and floods horribly during rain events. The stormwater should flow better, and there will be a redesign of the roadway which should increase traffic flow eventually by adding safer/wider bike and bus lanes.”
She copied the FDOT project coordinator, Alice Ramos, as well as interim City Manager Dave Bullock and city Public Works Director Nikesh Patel, telling the email writer that she hoped one or more of them would provide additional information if they had anything extra to report.
Among the comments that the News Leader found on the city’s Facebook page, one person wrote, “What is wrong with FDOT? During Daylight in tourist season the drive on and off the island can be upwards of 30 Mins without construction.”
A second noted that this time of year is “when the traffic starts to ramp up with all the snowbirds.”
Yet a third person wrote of the 2027 timeline for completion, “Are you kidding me?”