Crews to start interim improvement work at intersection where crash killed two teens

Drivers will start seeing crews at the intersection where two teen boys were killed in a crash last month, along with several lane closures.

Crews are constructing an “interim improvement” where State Road 64 meets Greyhawk Boulevard/Pope Road.

The left turn from westbound SR 64 to Pope Road will be temporarily closed while crews from Ajax Paving Industries of Florida Inc. work.

FDOT also announced motorists should expect the inside eastbound and westbound lanes at the intersection will be closed day and night Monday and Tuesday.

The eastbound to northbound left turn lane will also be closed during the project.

The intersection was the scene of a crash that killed two Lakewood Ranch High School students.

On Sept. 15, the day of Lakewood Ranch High School’s homecoming, Chase Coyner, 17, was driving west on State Road 64 in a 2012 Honda Accord. Coyner turned left in front of an oncoming 2007 Dodge Ram.

He and his passenger, 15-year-old Matthew Powers, suffered fatal injuries in the crash.

Data from the FDOT showed the intersection was the site of 18 crashes in four years.

A petition has also been circulated, calling for a solution to unsafe traffic conditions at the intersection.

As a more permanent solution to the Pope Road/Greyhawk Boulevard intersection, FDOT has planned a roundabout. It is currently in the design phase and not scheduled for construction until 2023.