New overpass would link Lakewood Ranch with rowing park

It promises to relieve the congested University Parkway and Fruitville Road corridors, serving as an additional east-west connector for motorists.

The relief? A proposed four-lane overpass connecting Lakewood Ranch to near the southern portion of Nathan Benderson Park’s lake.

“Right now, the only way to get around going east or west is University or Fruitville,” said Paula Wiggins, Sarasota County’s transportation planning manager. “We have quite a bit of development going on in this area in University and Fruitville on both sides of the interstate. This gives motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians an alternative of using another roadway than those two of getting around.”

While the proposed overpass, which will connect the future Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Cattlemen Road, could take a step forward Thursday, the start date for the project is still to be determined. At 6:30 p.m., the Sarasota County Planning Commission will have a public hearing about the Comprehensive Plan Amendment required for the overpass in commission chambers, 1660 Ringling Blvd., Sarasota.

Then the amendment will go before the county commission. The first of two required hearings before the county commission to transmit the amendment to the state is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 24 while the second hearing has yet to be scheduled, according to Jason Bartolone, county spokesman.

Sarasota County officials are unable to say when motorists can expect to see cranes and other construction materials but are estimating it will be an approximately $20 million project.

“This puts us in a better position once when we have design and permits in place,” Wiggins said. “Having the roadway on the Comprehensive Plan, it increases our chances of getting funding sooner than later.”

Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, the developer of Lakewood Ranch, is currently working on the project’s design and permitting phases. While unable to provide cost estimates of these phases, Kisinger-Campo Associates is the engineer, according to Richard Bedford, SMR vice president of planning.

“SMR is providing the engineering which will result in a fully permitted project,” he said. “This process is approximately 45 percent complete and will likely be done by the end of 2017.”

SMR is currently working on the extension of both Lorraine Road and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Fruitville Road and once complete, the overpass “will facilitate LWR Blvd. in becoming a north-south connector, east of the interstate,” Bedford wrote in an email.

“It will relieve east-west traffic pressure from the University and Fruitville intersections,” he said.

Per the Transportation Facilities Agreement between the county and SMR for the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South DRI, the Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District is “eligible to receive a reimbursement from mobility fees for the Overpass project (design, engineering and permitting) up to $1,154,000,” Bartolone said.

SMR will not be required to do the construction, Wiggins said, adding that by including the project in the thoroughfare plan, it will open the door to allow the county to seek funds through the state and federal governments.

“We will be seeking funds wherever we can get them,” she said.

Proposed location of the overpass

Since Sarasota County’s first public meeting in January 2015, the proposed overpass has changed. At that time, the overpass would have connected the future extension of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard with Cattlemen Road and extend to Honore Avenue. But after hearing from the public as well as reviewing a transportation impact assessment, which was completed by Hanson Professional Services Inc., the location has been slightly modified.

“The overpass would not directly connect to Honore Avenue as previously proposed,” county documents state. “The proposed I-75 Overpass will provide relief of traffic congestion on both University Parkway and Fruitville Road. The addition of the Overpass connection to Cattlemen Road into the Future Thoroughfare Plan will allow for pursuit of state and federal funding, as well as eligibility for road mobility fee funding.”

Bob Sullivan, president and CEO of Suncoast Aquatic Nature Center Associates, the nonprofit that operates the park, said he can’t say whether he is for or against the proposed location of the overpass connecting to Cattlemen Road at the southern end of Nathan Benderson Park.

“There are a number of locations that work and there are pluses and minuses to those locations, and I think the process will bear out,” he said.

But Sullivan said he is glad to see that something is being done.

“I think it will be a positive for us because any time there is increased access into the park, it’s a good thing,” he said. “I think the overpass will certainly help traffic flow for people entering and existing the park.”

Before a decision is made, there needs to be further study of the proposed overpass’ location, said Jay Brady, manager of The Meadows Community Association. The Meadows is located to the west of Nathan Benderson Park.

“We just think that before a decision is made to spend $20 million of taxpayer money that all reasonable alternatives be fully vetted,” he said.

While Hanson, which was hired by Sarasota County to conduct an independent evaluation of the alternatives, conducted a transportation impact assessment, it still does not include the alternative The Meadows had requested, according to Brady.

“We’ve been pretty consistent in just asking for a fair study of alternatives to the southern option that has been the only alternative until we suggested they consider a northern alternative,” Brady said. “We don’t favor or disfavor anything. What we favor is a fair study of reasonable alternatives before spending $20 million. We do have concerns of what the impact on the park might be by this southern alternative dead ending at the south end of the park.”

This story was originally published December 9, 2016 at 2:34 PM with the headline "New overpass would link Lakewood Ranch with rowing park."