Resurfacing contractor to work on safety improvements
Ocean Boulevard on Siesta Key between Givens Street and Higel Avenue will be closed from July 7 through July 21, Sarasota County Public Works Department staff informed leaders of the Siesta Key Association (SKA) on July 3.
On June 17, as shown in a letter that county staff provided to the SKA — which sent it to The Sarasota News Leader — Spencer Anderson, director of Public Works, formally approved the request of Ajax Paving Industries of North Venice to implement the closure. The company plans “to install roadway improvements” in the affected section of Ocean Boulevard, the letter says.
Ajax Paving has been handling a road resurfacing project on Siesta Key on the county’s behalf.
Anderson called for the company to install portable changeable message signs about the work and to “notify all affected homeowners and businesses one week before the road closure.”
No other details were provided in the letter from Anderson or in the road closure application that the company had submitted to Public Works.
However, a document updated for this month by the county’s Capital Projects Department points out that, although the resurfacing of island road segments began in 2024, the work had to be halted because of the damage inflicted on the Key by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. The project resumed the week of April 28, the document adds.
“Paving was completed on the streets off the west end of Beach Road [and] just west of Siesta Key Village,” the document continues. Further, it says that night-time paving has been completed on Beach Road.
“Activities will shift back to the daytime and will consist of sidewalk construction and ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] improvements at the intersection of Columbus Boulevard and Beach Road, completion of the traffic signal work and pedestrian improvements at the intersection of Beach Road and Midnight Pass Road, and safety improvements on Ocean Boulevard as it approaches Higel Avenue. Motorists and pedestrians should use caution while traveling past the construction zones or activities. Anticipated completion of this project is Fall of 2025.”
The total construction expense is $11,364,864.64, the document notes.