Widening of this country road is coming — but not before growth. Here’s how to learn more

Plans for widening a two-lane country highway, Moccasin Wallow Road, serving the projected epicenter of planned growth in northern Manatee County, are becoming a little clearer.

Developers already have approvals or applications to build 25,000 homes in the Parrish and North River area, traditional farm, ranch and forest country.

Manatee County government is hosting an open house from 6 to 9 p.m. Dec. 2 for the public to browse design boards and plans for the road. The open house will be at the First Baptist Church of Gillette, 3301 97th Street E.

There will be no formal presentation, but project staff members will be on hand to answer questions about the road project, which lags plans by builders to construct thousands of homes in the area.

The $30 million project, including acquisition of right-of-way, would widen to six lanes 1.9 miles of Moccasin Wallow Road from U.S. 41 to Interstate 75. The interim phase of the project would widen the roadway from two lanes to four lanes, separated by a 22-foot wide raised grass median.

A 12-foot wide multi-use path would be constructed on the north side of Moccasin Wallow Road in addition to a six-foot wide sidewalk on the south side and seven-foot wide bicycle lanes in each direction.

Median openings will be provided to allow residential access, and stormwater runoff will be collected and treated in linear ponds along the project roadway

Road design should be completed in 2020, but a construction start date has not been set, said Alice Ramos, a community outreach specialist, for the project.

Plans for widening Moccasin Wallow from I-75 east to U.S. 301 are less clear.

In July, developer Pat Neal appeared before the Manatee County Commission and repeated his offer to help widen the east side of Moccasin Wallow, along real estate where he plans to build thousands of homes.

Neal requested the commission set set aside about $150,000 toward a preliminary engineering study for environmental surveying, right-of-way needs and corridor analysis. County staff said Neal’s plans could be a positive first step toward receiving funding from the state or federal government.

Betsy Benac, an at-large Manatee County commissioner who also has a seat on the Sarasota/Metropolitan Planning Organization, which sets priorities for road projects in the two-county area, said the 1.9-mile segment of widening will be done with county funds only.

The county is working with Neal to seek a state grant to assist with widening the section east of I-75, she said.

“Pat has a of of right of way in that area which will be helpful,” Benac said.

Pat Neal, and his son, John, have plans to build 5,842 homes at their North River Ranch development, which borders Moccasin Wallow Road on the south.

Priscilla Whisenant Trace, the county commissioner who represents Parrish and the North River area, said traffic along Moccasin Wallow Road has been exacerbated by growth and the closure of the I-275 southbound ramp to northbound I-75.

The Florida Department of Transportation said Tuesday that the ramp would reopen to traffic by 6 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27 ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

“Most of our residents are unhappy there is so much development. We have had a lot of problems because of the I-75 detour,” Trace said.

“If they could take the community back to the way it was 20 years ago, they would,” Trace said.

For more information about the Moccasin Wallow Road project, call Alice Ramos at 863-797-7202.