Roundabout planned for major Parrish intersection in delicate dance of jurisdictions
A roundabout is coming to Parrish’s northern gateway as part of the plan to widen Moccasin Wallow Road to accommodate intense growth in the area.
Planning for a roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 301 and Moccasin Wallow Road is about 90% complete.
“Plans and permits should become available just ahead of the land being acquired. Currently, we expect construction to start sometime in 2022,” Nick Azzara, Manatee County information outreach manager, said in an email this week.
Widening and improvement of the two-lane country road have become a more pressing issue with an estimated 25,000 homes coming to the Parrish-North River area, many of them along Moccasin Wallow Road.
Because of its proximity to a county road, a state highway, and residential development, intersection improvements require close coordination between Manatee County, developers, and the Florida Department of Transportation, Azzara said in response to a request for information from the Herald.
Manatee County has partnered with developers Pat and John Neal to design the road improvement project.
The project started with an alignment and feasibility study for all of Moccasin Wallow east of I-75. For the first segment of the road project — from the intersection of U.S. 301 to 115th Street — the state of Florida awarded $3.6 million to Manatee County for each of two-state funding years, 2021 and 2022.
Manatee County is matching the state’s $7.2 million in anticipated construction costs of $14.4 million, Azzara said.
FDOT requires an intersection control evaluation to determine the best traffic control method for intersections on the state highway system such as U.S. 301. The process determines whether a traditional junction with a traffic signal or roundabout should be used.
The process evaluates several intersection control scenarios and ranks the alternatives based on operational and safety performance. Other factors include cost, social, environmental, and economic impacts.
The U.S. 301-Moccasin Wallow study chose a roundabout as the appropriate intersection, Azzara said.
Throughout the study, Manatee County Public Works Department has continued working on the design phase of the Moccasin Wallow and U.S. 301 roundabout improvement along with the first segment of the Moccasin Wallow Roadway improvement project, he said.
“For segment one of the roadway project, the intersection must be constructed in unison with the project.” Azzara said.
Gretchen Fowler, president of the Parrish Civic Association, said she was aware of all of the county plans, except that a roundabout had been selected for the intersection.
“Looking at it now, it makes sense. They are putting a traffic signal at State Road 62 and U.S. 301. That might be part of their thought process,” she said.
State Road 62 intersects with U.S. 301 just to the south of the Moccasin Wallow intersection with 301. The state is proposing to realign S.R. 62 so that it intersects with Erie Road.
Traffic approaching U.S. 301 from State Road 62 now enters the intersection between Johnny’s Tires on the north and JoJo’s Tastes of Chicago on the south. Under the proposed realignment, that traffic would be directed about one-tenth of a mile south on a planned stretch of road south of Jo Jo’s and align with Erie Road on the west side of U.S. 301.
Concerns about big trucks
A roundabout at Moccasin Wallow would also slow speeding traffic approaching Parrish from the north on U.S. 301, Fowler said.
Even so, Fowler has concerns about heavy traffic approaching Parrish from the center of the state on S.R. 62, which turns north on U.S. 301, and proceeds west on Moccasin Wallow Road to Interstate 75.
She worries about the safety of mixing 18-wheelers and passenger vehicles on a roundabout.
John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods, has previously said that as many as 28,000 people may eventually call North River Ranch home. The Neals’ huge North River Ranch development is just west of the U.S. 301-Moccasin Wallow intersection.
The Neals are no strangers to road building. They paid to extend Fort Hamer Road from U.S. 301 on the south side of the historic village center of Parrish to Buckeye Road in the north. The extension, being built in segments, runs through North River Ranch. Another notable road building project in Manatee County was extending Honore Avenue from University Parkway to Lockwood Ridge Road.
In August, Pat Neal told the Herald that he and his son were pursuing partnerships for improving Moccasin Wallow Road, under the Public-Private Partnership Act, or possibly through the North River Ranch Stewardship District.
“We have made a proposal to build the first two sections of Moccasin Wallow Road (appropriated with 50% match from the Florida Legislature),” Neal said in an email.
This story was originally published September 17, 2021 at 10:59 AM.
