Construction on new Interstate 75-University Parkway interchange could start in August 2015

By SARA KENNEDY

skennedy@bradenton.com

MANATEE -- Construction on a $72 million "diverging diamond" interchange at Interstate 75 and University Parkway could start by August 2015, a Florida Department of Transportation official said Monday.

Billy Hattaway, FDOT's District One secretary, said that the estimated cost of the project had gone up -- from $60 million to $72 million -- but he reiterated that the state's transportation chief still remains committed to fully funding it and on an accelerated construction schedule.

Hattaway told the Sarasota-Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization that the interchange reconstruction is 50-60 percent designed, and he hoped that its "diverging diamond" design would be complete by May.

Construction, he said, could start as soon as August 2015 -- 10 months after the Mall at University Town Center is scheduled to open near the interchange

MPO members said the timing of the interchange's reconstruction was important because a World Rowing Championship is slated to take place in the fall of 2017 nearby at Nathan Benderson Park.

This story was originally published July 28, 2014 at 11:03 AM with the headline "Construction on new Interstate 75-University Parkway interchange could start in August 2015."