River Road widening to include novel U-turn configuration at Center Road intersection
SARASOTA COUNTY – The Florida Department of Transportation introduced a new concept into the local traffic lexicon Thursday night at an open house to discuss the $47.5 million widening of River Road between Interstate 75 and U.S. 41 – Partial Median U-turn, or PMUT for short.
For example, northbound vehicles will not be able to make a left-hand turn at Center Road to head west.
River Road: River Road widening to be discussed at open house
Instead, vehicles must travel north of the intersection to that signalized U-turn median cut, where they will have to make a U-turn and travel south on River Road and then turn west on Center Road.
The traffic signal at the U-turn also will control a crosswalk for pedestrians, and cyclists can travel from the northbound 10-foot wide multi-use recreational path to the southbound one.
As explained on a video loop that repeated for the crowd at the Englewood Sports Complex, as well as on a web presentation, PMUT has a potential 16 conflict points, where vehicles could collide, while a traditional intersection has 32.
Another PMUT just south of River Road offers an opportunity for southbound River Road traffic to make a U-turn, with another signalized crosswalk for recreational path users.
North Port City Commissioner Debbie McDowell, who estimated she was one of about 200 people who viewed the video and talked with FDOT representatives at the two-hour open house, dubbed them “funky intersections” on a Facebook post describing the evening.
The meeting is one of the last opportunities for people to weigh in on the $47.5-million widening project before the design is finalized.
Road widening long overdue
River Road is a key transportation connector for coastal south Sarasota County, Charlotte County, and the communities of North Port and Englewood, as well as a major hurricane evacuation transportation route.
The area, as well as the region's political leaders, have been pushing for the road to be widened for more than three decades.
Increased development in the Wellen Park area of North Port, which also includes the Atlanta Braves spring training complex, exacerbated that need.
Earlier: River Road land swap pushed to October
The state acquired the five-mile stretch of road, also known as State Road 777, from Sarasota County as part of a road maintenance swap.
The project calls for thoroughfare to be widened to six lanes from Tamiami Trail to Center Road and four lanes between Center Road and I-75.
North Port City Commissioner Jill Luke, whose district includes Wellen Park and the portion of River Road that’s within city limits, was impressed by the design.
“I thought it was planned very well,” Luke said. “I know there’s a lot of people who want it six-lanes all the way, but they're putting it in the design so when those four turn to six, they can do it.”
That reduction in lanes for northbound traffic factors into the design of the PMUT, with the left-hand northbound lane funneled into that U-turn.
Studies from the Federal Highway Administration show a reduction of the total number of crashes between 20% and 50%. They also reduce the number of head-on or angle crashes and make it safer for pedestrians.
FDOT is either using or planning to use PMUTs at the intersection of U.S. 41 and Pine Island Road in Lee County; U.S. 27 and California Boulevard in Polk County; and U.S. 92 at Tomoka Farms Road in Volusia County. They are also being used in New Mexico and Louisiana.
Traditional traffic lights will be maintained at the intersections of River Road and West Villages Parkway and River Road and East Venice Avenue.
Two wildlife crossing underpasses will be built near the Jelks Preserve – north of Tempest Harbor Loop and north of Stoneycreek Boulevard.
Other intersections will be right-in, right-out only, with nearby, non-signalized directional U-turn median cuts.
North Port had once envisioned a similar configuration for the proposed widening of Price Boulevard. That has since been replaced with one that removes a median.
Luke said that while the Price concept was problematic because the right-of-way was not wide enough for motorists making a U-turn to then make it to their destination, that’s not the case with the state’s plan for River Road.
There will also be streetlights along the entire five-mile project.
Design is scheduled to be finished early this year, with construction slated to start in February.
The project is expected to take three years, with at least one lane open in each direction at all times.
In the first phase of the project, workers with The de Moya Group, which won the design-build contract in conjunction with Stantec, will build the southbound travel lanes and shared-use path.
Once that is complete, all traffic will shift there, and the existing roadway will be rebuilt as the northbound travel lanes.
Each phase is anticipated to take between 14 and 18 months.
That would only cover the northernmost five miles of a 13-mile-long road.
Sarasota County has been talking with area developers about widening River Road south of Tamiami Trail through to Englewood.
Exact cost figures have not been set, but previous estimates were about $24 million.
More info:
Written comments will be accepted via an email form through Feb. 7, and the video is available to watch online at www.swflroads.com/riverroad/us41toi75/ under “Documents and Publications.”
Public comment will be taken through Feb. 7.
The public comment form can be found at https://bit.ly/3FTa3ih.
Earle Kimel primarily covers south Sarasota County for the Herald-Tribune and can be reached at earle.kimel@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription to the Herald-Tribune.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: River Road widening introduces partial median u-turn to local lexion
