The City of Sarasota is scheduled to start work on Saturday, Aug. 4, to improve drainage along North Orange Avenue, from 10th Street to 19th Street. Parts of the avenue will be closed to traffic between October and January.
The $1.8 million project is being funded with a Community Development Disaster Relief Block Grant from Sarasota County. Street flooding along the corridor has been a chronic problem for years.
The work will include new stormwater drainage inlets and pipes, plus new curbs and sidewalks. The stretch from 10th to 17th streets will be repaved in August and September, mostly during the night. New curbs, sidewalks and bus stops will also be installed, according to a county email.
The work includes a new water line to be installed under the Seminole Gulf Line Railroad tracks. The railroad will clean its ditch north of 19th Street and replace the stormwater pipe under that street, according to city officials.
In October and November, the city expects to close Orange Avenue between 10th and 12th streets to replace a water line. For December and January, it anticipates closing Orange from 17th to 19th to replace a stormwater line.
Sarasota County Area Transit and school buses may need to be rerouted. SCAT and the School Board are responsible for alerting patrons and students to the changed routines.
Most of the work will be the conventional ditch-and-lay-pipe variety, but some directional drilling will be used. The work is expected to be finished by March 2013.