7 new roundabouts are planned for State Road 70 in Manatee County, Lakewood Ranch
A four-year project to add seven new roundabouts and widen State Road 70 at a cost of $121 million could start construction as early as late 2023.
Until relatively recently, Panther Ridge and The Concession Golf Club were the largest developments along the stretch of two-lane highway between Lorraine Road and County Road 675.
That was before new communities like Polo Run, Lakewood National and Del Webb Lakewood Ranch popped up, with many more thousands of homes planned and permitted in the area.
Vanessa Baugh, the county commissioner representing the district along that stretch of S.R. 70, supports the roundabout plan.
In fact, she worked for it as immediate past chair of the Sarasota/Manatee Planning Organization, which recommends road project priorities.
“I think it s a fantastic idea and worked very hard on it. At first I wasn’t sold on roundabouts. They don’t stop traffic. They slow it down, and traffic continues to move,” Baugh said. “It really helps reduce accidents.”
Data for 2010 to 2014 indicates that the average crash rate for the S.R. 70 project corridor is significantly higher than the five-year statewide average crash rate for similar roads within the state, FDOT said.
Do roundabouts work on roads where vehicles travel 55 mph or often faster? Yes, they do. A nearby example is the twin roundabouts on State Road 64 between Mill Creek and Lakewood Ranch, that many initially opposed as impractical.
The first of those S.R. 64 roundabouts opened to traffic in 2021, and not only slowed down traffic, but helped residents of neighborhoods along the highway get to and from their homes.
“We have a heck of a hard time getting out of our complex,” Richard Buelow, one of those residents said at that time of the heavy traffic along State Road 64. “This roundabout and the next one will help slow them down.”
Project phasing
Michelle Buitron, project manager for the Florida Department of Transportation, said the first phase of the 6.1-mile S.R. 70 project could start in late 2023 or early 2024, with the second phase starting soon after.
It would cost an estimated $121 million and take four years to complete.
The project is dependent in part on $53 million that Gov. Ron DeSantis recommended the Legislature appropriate for widening S.R. 70 between Bourneside Boulevard and Waterbury Road, more commonly referred to as County Road 675.
The requested appropriation is part of DeSantis’ “Moving Florida Forward” proposal totaling $7 billion for road improvement projects statewide.
The S.R. 70 project would widen the highway to at least four lanes from Lorraine Road to its intersection with County Road 675.
“We just want that road to be safe,” Buitron said.
At one time, much of the traffic on S.R. 70 east of Lakewood Ranch was from travelers driving across the state from other counties.
But with all the growth coming to Lakewood Ranch, that’s no longer the case, Baugh said.
“This will become reality, absolutely,” Baught said of the widening of S.R. 70 and the planned roundabouts.
“We don’t have a choice,” she said.
The rationale for roundabouts
The FDOT District 1 Office offered this rationale for building roundabouts:
The Federal Highway Administration found that roundabouts can increase traffic capacity by 30-50% compared to traditional intersections.
Roundabouts promote a continuous flow of traffic through intersections and the result is less congestion on approaching roads. Studies have also shown that roundabouts are safer than traditional stop sign or traffic signal intersections.
These studies quote a 37% reduction in overall collisions, a 75% reduction in injury collisions, and a 90% percent reduction in fatality collisions.
The curved road and one-way travel around a roundabout reduces speed and eliminates the possibility for T-bone and head-on collisions.
Planned State Road 70 roundabouts
▪ Uihlein Road, Lakewood Ranch
▪ Del Webb Boulevard, East Manatee County
▪ Bourneside Boulevard, Lakewood Ranch
▪ Lindrick Lane, The Concession Golf Club
▪ 213th St. E., Panther Ridge
▪ Panther Ridge Trail, Panther Ridge
▪ Meadow Dove Lane, East Manatee County
For more information
Visit the Florida Department of Transportation project web page at https://www.swflroads.com/project/414506-2.
