Staff continuing work on design of South River Road improvements
It could take up to two more years for a contractor working for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to complete the improvements on River Road from U.S 41 to Interstate 75, Spencer Anderson, director of the Sarasota County Public Works Department, told the commissioners during their June 19 budget workshop.
As he was presenting the department’s proposed budget for the 2025 fiscal year — which will start Oct. 1 — Anderson noted that, during their regular meeting on July 9, he would be proposing to the commissioners an agreement with the West Villages Improvement District (WVID) “to design River Road from U.S. 41 to Winchester [Boulevard], and from Winchester [Boulevard] to the [Charlotte] county line.”
Winchester Boulevard is close to the Wellen Park community in South County.
As its website explains, “The WVID has the authority to plan, finance, construct, operate and maintain public infrastructure within Wellen Park. The district currently spans 12,444 acres within the city of North Port and unincorporated Sarasota County. Residential neighborhoods, commercial centers and the Atlanta Braves’ spring training stadium are all located within the district boundaries, as is the soon-to-be-completed Downtown Wellen.”
South River Road will be widened from two lanes to four, Anderson reminded the board members on June 19.
He also referenced the $25 million in funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the county’s recovery from Hurricane Ian in September 2022, “a large portion” of which will be used for the construction phase of the South River Road project.
The grant program is being called Resilient SRQ.
The Community Development Block Grant that HUD awarded the county totaled $201.5 million, with the focus on payments being made to low- to moderate-income residents who suffered extensive damage from the hurricane.
The remainder of the money needed for the South River Road initiative, Anderson indicated, is expected to come from the federal government, as well, along with mobility impact fees that developers must pay in conjunction with constructing new communities and other sources that he did not name.
Rob Lewis, director of governmental relations for the county, has talked about the efforts of U.S. Rep. Greg Steube, a Sarasota Republican, to include money for River Road in the 2025 federal budget bill. Steube’s District 17 website explains that he is seeking $3 million for the River Road initiative.
The website adds that the money “would be used for multi-modal roadway improvements along the South River Road and Winchester Boulevard Englewood Interstate Connector.”
In a May 9 letter to U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, the Oklahoma Republican who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, the ranking member of that committee, Steube wrote, “The project is an appropriate use of taxpayer funds because it would help protect the health, safety, and welfare of Florida residents by increasing capacity and improving resilience of a flood-prone primary hurricane evacuation route.”
“We’re looking forward to getting that [project] kicked off,” Anderson told the commissioners.
Cutsinger, Rainford advocate for South River Road initiative
Commissioner Ron Cutsinger, who lives in Englewood, extended his appreciation to Anderson for the work on the South River Road undertaking. Then Cutsinger asked him when staff anticipates when a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held for the FDOT project involving North River Road.
“I believe they still have about another 18 to 24 months of construction on that,” Anderson replied, referring to the contractor’s crew members. “I was surprised at how much longer they had …”
He then explained that the project, as originally designed, called for four lanes between Center Road and Interstate 75. However, FDOT staff decided to go ahead and add two extra lanes, for a six-lane route. “That [will cost] roughly about $10 million, from what the state’s told us,” Anderson continued. “It seems like a good investment for the state to pursue that at this time.”
Cutsinger noted that, as he recalled, FDOT had estimated the North River Road work at $60 million. However, the winning bid ended up being approximately $47 million.
Yet another appearance he will have before the commissioners during their July 10 meeting, Anderson continued, will focus on their decision in May to halt plans for a roundabout at the intersection of Beach and Midnight Pass roads, near Fire Station 13 and Siesta Public Beach on Siesta Key.
(The lone valid bid came in at $8.9 million, Anderson noted during the board’s May 15 budget workshop; yet, staff had estimated the cost at $4.2 million.)
Referring to the roundabout discussion next month, Anderson said, “We’ll have some conversation about what the state has offered to us as a means to work with both [the Siesta Key undertaking and the South River Road initiative] and the funding conditions of each of those.”
During the May 15 budget workshop discussion, commissioners expressed hope that FDOT would be willing to shift the funds it had planned to spend on the roundabout to the South River Road project.
The roundabout was just one facet of a 2020 “road swap” that gave North River Road to the state in return for the county’s taking over jurisdiction of the roads on Siesta Key, including the approaches from the north and south to the drawbridges that link the island to the mainland.
FDOT leaders for years had told Sarasota County commissioners that as long as River Road remained in the county’s jurisdiction, FDOT could not justify making improvements on the route a priority.
In September 2017, then-County Administrator Tom Harmer broached the idea of the road swap with the commissioners, which the commissioners endorsed.
During the June 19 discussion, Cutsinger also asked whether the design work Anderson had mentioned for South River Road involves “the entire road.
“Correct,” Anderson responded. “We’ll have the design ready,
Anderson continued, even if county staff has to end up breaking that initiative into phases, which he believes will be likely, he added.
Cutsinger suggested that Anderson work with county staff to try to come up with the best design for the entire South River Road project, and then the commissioners could figure out how to pay for the work. It made more financial sense, Cutsinger indicated, for the whole project to be undertaken at one time, instead of the county’s having to pay for a second mobilization of a contractor — or even more mobilizations.
Transportation engineers long have pointed out that the mobilization cost for a project often represents a significant portion of the total expense.
No board member commented on Cutsinger’s remark except for Commissioner Neil Rainford, who represents District 3, which contains most of the city of Venice.
“I echo your comments,” Rainford told Cutsinger.
A county webpage dedicated to the River Road Regional Interstate Connector project points out that the total amount of revenue dedicated to the undertaking thus far is $52.6 million. The webpage further notes that the entire initiative comprises 12.7 miles of roadway from the Charlotte County line to I-75.
When Rainford next asked for clarification that North River Road will be six lanes all the way from I-75 to [U.S.] 41, Anderson confirmed that.
An FDOT project fact sheet for the North River Road undertaking notes that construction began in February 2022, with the overall expense put at $47.5 million.
A June 21 update on the county webpage explains, “Embankment activities continue [on the] southbound roadway from US 41 to West Villages Parkway. Drainage structures, pipe, and curb and gutter installations will also continue throughout the project.”
The project distance is about 5 miles, the webpage points out.