New Diverging Diamond leaves some confused, but many think it’s a positive change

Sunday’s debut of the Diverging Diamond Interchange at University Parkway and Interstate 75 got mixed reviews from drivers and passengers, some who said they basically liked it but found the lane shifting it requires to be confusing at first.

“It flows nicely and it makes sense, but there was just too much confusion on Sunday, so I think there needs to be someone out there Monday directing traffic for sure,” said Brandon Thomas, who works in Starbucks in the Macy’s at the nearby Mall at University Town Center Mall was a passenger in a car that went through the diamond.

Erica DiZieto of Sarasota also found her first trip to be a bit unnerving.

“It was very confusing to be honest,” said DiZieto. “I got off the Interstate and I was going to go left and it was confusing. But, eventually, it will work out.”

Thomas and DiZieto and thousands of others experienced for the first time the largest Diverging Diamond Interchange in the United States and the first in Florida. When it is completed, there will be six eastbound lanes and six westbound lanes on University Parkway and extra lanes on I-75, all designed for motorist safety, said Robin Stublen, a Florida Department of Transportation spokesman.

There were 10 lanes open on University Parkway on Sunday, five in each direction, Stublen added.

Once in the Diverging Diamond Interchange, also known as a DDI, traffic actually switches sides of the road, which reduces the amount of conflict points, Stublen added.

“So you don’t have side impacts and dangerous roll-overs,” Stublen said.

The new traffic pattern, which took 22 months to construct and isn’t completely finished, opened shortly after noon Sunday after the opening was delayed about four hours due to overnight rain that prevented the road from being striped in time for an 8 a.m. opening.

“This traffic pattern design was specifically chosen for the Interstate 75 and University Parkway interchange because it was felt it could best manage the high volume of opposing left turns and the high volume of traffic,” Stublen said.

Some drivers a bit flummoxed

While the theory seems good, in practice, according to Thomas, people were a bit flummoxed.

“People were just kind of stopped at a green light and confused at which way to go and not paying attention to what they were doing,” said Thomas, who did add that law enforcement and media presence may have added to the confusion.

“But I like the diamond, I do,” Thomas added. “I just think there’s going to be a little confusion at first.”

Said Cathy Mai of Sarasota of her first diamond trip: “Traffic was not too bad. It’s a little strange, but it was OK. It was easy to navigate. I expected worse actually because everybody was making a big fuss around it.”

Stublen was on hand for the very first drivers who went through and said he didn’t see any confusion.

“People are driving through like they have been driving through this their entire lives,” Stublen said. “Everyone seems very happy with the way things are going. They are taking to it like ducks to water. This is very encouraging. These people know what’s going on. We’re having a lot of thumbs up and honking.”

Due to the volume of traffic at the interchange, Prince Contracting, which supervised the building of the DDI, was required to maintain pre-construction lane capacity during the day and restrict lane closures and detours to nighttime hours only.

A lot of work has been done

The construction cost of the DDI was $74.5 million, said Marlena Gore, a project manager for the Florida Department of Transportation.

As part of the total cost, auxiliary lanes were added on northbound and southbound I-75, a new bridge was constructed on I-75 over University Parkway, University Parkway was widened, and both on and off ramps were realigned at I-75 and University Parkway. When it’s complete, additions will include ponds, drainage, lighting, noise walls, bike lanes, traffic signals, sidewalks and pedestrian walkways.

While the University Parkway portion of the project is about 90 percent finished, there is still work to be done on I-75 to get the project finished prior to the start of the World Rowing Championship at Benderson Park in September, Stublen said.

Work left to be done includes construction of the center median and pedestrian walkway, sidewalk, curb and gutter and drainage ponds as well as installation of roadway signs and a final layer of asphalt and permanent striping.

“Like anything else that is new, it takes some getting used to,” Gore said of driving the diamond. “But once they try it, they will love it.”

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "New Diverging Diamond leaves some confused, but many think it’s a positive change."