State planning for future changes to I-75 in Manatee-Sarasota. What are your concerns?
Interstate 75 through Manatee and Sarasota counties has been a construction zone since 2015, when the Florida Department of Transportation started work on the $75 million diverging diamond at University Parkway.
Upgrades followed on interchanges at State Road 64/I-75, now completed, and the $80.7 million State Road 70/I-75 interchange, which is scheduled for completion this fall.
The biggest interchange project of all, I-75/U.S. 301, fully funded for $138 million, is scheduled to start this fiscal year.
The U.S. 301/I-75 interchange will be rebuilt from a partial cloverleaf interchange to a tight diamond configuration. New bridges will be constructed over the Manatee River for a northbound exit ramp and a southbound entrance ramp.
Even with all the interchange work, FDOT officials understand that I-75 is often overloaded. Some of the long-range challenges are addressed in the Southwest Connect Interstate 75 North Corridor Master Plan.
The plan covers the area north of Moccasin Wallow Road south to River Road near Venice in Sarasota County.
The planned improvements identified in the master plan may include widening, managed lanes, modifying interchanges, and/or evaluating new interchanges, according to FDOT.
Asked whether that possibly meant an improved interchange at Moccasin Wallow Road, construction of an interchange at Buckeye Road, another interchange elsewhere, and more lanes north of the U.S. 301/I-75 interchange, David L. Hutchinson, executive director of the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization, said possibly.
“As to the potential improvements, I would say all of the above,” Hutchinson said.
Moccasin Wallow Road has become a growth hot spot with tens of thousands of homes planned in major developments like Robinson Gateway and North River Ranch, as well as a new Del Webb community.
Developers have thousands more homes planned at Lakewood Ranch, both north and south of the Manatee-Sarasota county line. Schroeder-Manatee Ranch’s Waterside development in Sarasota County is planned for more than 5,000 homes.
A little further south in Sarasota County, Hi Hat Ranch located off Clark Road could one day be home to 30,000 residents.
FDOT has announced a virtual public outreach meeting to gather citizen comments on future transportation plans.
This workshop will be held online and is available on the project website, www.SWFLInterstates.com/North-Corridor-VPM.
Meeting materials will be available for viewing and comment June 15–25. In addition, FDOT is hosting a live online question-and-answer event 5–6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 15. Visit the project website to register for the virtual event.
To call into the session, dial +1-914- 614-3221 and enter access code 549-037-035. Attendees who use the call-in option will be able to listen only and will not be able to type in questions during the meeting.
I-75 Southwest Connect is a capacity, safety and operational improvement project is, now in the planning and feasibility phase.
FDOT will analyze the interstate system’s existing transportation challenges. The findings of the analysis, as well as recommendations to enhance safety and mobility, will be documented in a master plan.
Public input will be used in the identification and prioritization of projects to move forward into the project development process.
“It’s going to reflect the reality in such a way to identify potential bottlenecks in the future,” Hutchinson said.
The long-term study will be taking into account growing truck traffic. Any additional lanes for I-75 would likely be managed lanes, Hutchinson said.
“It’s important for the public to participate in this. It might help open eyes to related system needs. If people bring up an issue, it helps put in on the radar,” he said.
The MPO is the regional transportation planning entity for Sarasota and Manatee counties, established by state and federal laws and through interlocal agreement to provide a process for local governments within the region to coordinate with FDOT, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Federal Transit Administration.
Workshop materials will be available online..
For a hard copy packet of the workshop materials, contact Nicole Harris, I-75 project manager, at 863-519-2335 or by email at Nicole.Harris@dot.state.fl.us.
Comments or questions may be submitted through the project website at www.SWFLInterstates.com/North-Corridor-VPM or by emailing Nicole Harris at Nicole.Harris@dot.state.fl.us; or by mailing comments to Nicole Harris at FDOT District One, P.O. Box 1249, Bartow 33831.
Comments must be received or postmarked by June 25, in order to be included in the workshop record.
Visit FDOT District One on www.swflroads.com, or Twitter at @MyFDOT_SWFL, or facebook.com/MyFDOTSWFL to stay informed.
This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 1:46 PM.
