Roundabouts, not traffic lights, slated for 15th Street East improvement project

When it is all said and done, between $70 million and $90 million in federal funds could be invested in a 4.5-mile stretch of 15th Street East for roadway improvements, including a large portion of the Oneco business district.

The Federal Highway Administration this week approved one of two Florida Department of Transportation proposals, opting to go with roundabouts at five intersections and not add new traffic lights, as proposed in one recommendation.

The project is expected to begin at Tallevast Road and run along 15th Street East/U.S. 301 to U.S. 41. According to Robin Stublen, FDOT communications specialist, existing signalized intersections will remain intact. The proposed locations for roundabouts are at 49th, 51st and 57th avenues east, as well as Whitfield Road and Tallevast Road.

A $1.5 million environmental study was recently completed, and the $6.5 million design phase is underway and is expected to be completed by 2018. However, no funding has been released for FDOT right-of-way acquisitions or construction. Officials had hoped to start construction in 2020, but Stublen said the first of three phases of construction is expected to start in 2022.

The first phase of construction will begin at Tallevast Road to Magellan Drive. The second phase is from Magellan Drive to 49th Avenue East, and the final phase will pick up from there to U.S. 41. FDOT is currently suggesting a speed limit between 35-40 mph, but that is subject to change during a post-construction speed study.

The Federal Highway Administration will fund the project because U.S. 301 is a federal highway. FDOT will design and construct the project, and Manatee County will have final say in the design. Commissioners have pushed to make it a pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly project.

Construction will include building a three-lane roadway with intermittent pedestrian refuge islands, improved street lighting, bike lanes, sidewalks and bus stop facilities.

“FDOT is working in coordination with Manatee County and following FDOT standards, but Manatee County will have the final say in design,” Stublen said.

Roundabouts are more expensive than traffic lights due to the expense of added right-of-way acquisitions, but FDOT says the costs would be recovered within five years by limiting the use of traffic lights. Stublen said roundabouts are significantly more safer.

“Myth Busters even did a show on it,” he said previously during public meetings about the project. “They showed that in a certain amount of time, 1,000 cars could pass through a four-way intersection compared with 1,500 cars through a roundabout. They slow traffic down, but they also keep traffic moving, and it’s better than sitting at a red light and not moving at all.”

From 2009 to 2013, there were 888 crashes with seven fatalities along the 4.5-mile stretch. Stublen said roundabouts reduce fatalities and serious injuries by 90 percent.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Roundabouts, not traffic lights, slated for 15th Street East improvement project."