Downtown U.S. 41 traffic shifts to begin mid-January

Wednesday
Dec 27, 2017 at 12:24 PM Dec 27, 2017 at 12:24 PM

The lane shifts will be necessary for the 10th and 14th street roundabout construction and will last through mid 2019.

Zach Murdock Staff Writer @zach_murdock

SARASOTA — Crews have started to remove the median on U.S. 41 between 10th and 14th streets in what is the first step toward traffic shifts and larger scale construction of the planned new roundabouts at those intersections.

The median must be demolished to make way for a temporary southbound traffic lane during the construction, City Manager Tom Barwin wrote in his most recent weekly briefing.

Despite the ongoing work, the beginning of the new traffic shift is being delayed until the second week in January to avoid disrupting busier holiday traffic, Barwin wrote.

Then crews will pave and re-stripe the temporary southbound lane and begin shifting traffic to make room for construction on the west side of the road the following week. That shift is expected to stay in place through July 2019 when the two roundabouts are fully functional, Florida Department of Transportation officials have said.

Because an 8-inch potable water line is buried within the median being removed, crews are being especially cautious — even hand digging around the area, Barwin noted.

"City staff has been in close conversations with the contractor about this matter — and the project as a whole — and we appreciate their attention and vigilance," Barwin wrote. "The work is being done at night to minimize the traffic impact."

DOT officials have said they plan to start the about $8 million project at 10th Street and work their way north, completing improvements and shifting traffic along the way.

But construction of the two new roundabouts at 10th and 14th streets are only the first in a series of road and roundabout projects that are expected to tie up that critical downtown corridor through at least April 2020.

Officials also have discussed a plan to add a third northbound turn lane from Gulfstream Avenue up U.S. 41 to the dedicated right-turn lane onto Fruitville Road in an attempt to ease backups that routinely snake all the way up the John Ringling Causeway.

Another roundabout at U.S. 41 and Fruitville Road is due to start construction in mid-2018, too, as part of the massive mixed-used Quay Sarasota development approved late last year at the long-vacant bayfront site. The roundabout is required to be completed before any buildings can open on the site, accelerating its schedule to roughly the same as the 10th and 14th intersections.

Still pending are even further plans for the reconstruction of U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue into a big roundabout of its own and FDOT officials are studying other solutions big and small as part of its Barrier Island Traffic Study — from a gondola ride to St. Armands Circle to extra bus lines.

Wednesday
Dec 27, 2017 at 12:24 PM Dec 27, 2017 at 12:24 PM

The lane shifts will be necessary for the 10th and 14th street roundabout construction and will last through mid 2019.

Zach Murdock Staff Writer @zach_murdock

SARASOTA — Crews have started to remove the median on U.S. 41 between 10th and 14th streets in what is the first step toward traffic shifts and larger scale construction of the planned new roundabouts at those intersections.

The median must be demolished to make way for a temporary southbound traffic lane during the construction, City Manager Tom Barwin wrote in his most recent weekly briefing.

Despite the ongoing work, the beginning of the new traffic shift is being delayed until the second week in January to avoid disrupting busier holiday traffic, Barwin wrote.

Then crews will pave and re-stripe the temporary southbound lane and begin shifting traffic to make room for construction on the west side of the road the following week. That shift is expected to stay in place through July 2019 when the two roundabouts are fully functional, Florida Department of Transportation officials have said.

Because an 8-inch potable water line is buried within the median being removed, crews are being especially cautious — even hand digging around the area, Barwin noted.

"City staff has been in close conversations with the contractor about this matter — and the project as a whole — and we appreciate their attention and vigilance," Barwin wrote. "The work is being done at night to minimize the traffic impact."

DOT officials have said they plan to start the about $8 million project at 10th Street and work their way north, completing improvements and shifting traffic along the way.

But construction of the two new roundabouts at 10th and 14th streets are only the first in a series of road and roundabout projects that are expected to tie up that critical downtown corridor through at least April 2020.

Officials also have discussed a plan to add a third northbound turn lane from Gulfstream Avenue up U.S. 41 to the dedicated right-turn lane onto Fruitville Road in an attempt to ease backups that routinely snake all the way up the John Ringling Causeway.

Another roundabout at U.S. 41 and Fruitville Road is due to start construction in mid-2018, too, as part of the massive mixed-used Quay Sarasota development approved late last year at the long-vacant bayfront site. The roundabout is required to be completed before any buildings can open on the site, accelerating its schedule to roughly the same as the 10th and 14th intersections.

Still pending are even further plans for the reconstruction of U.S. 41 and Gulfstream Avenue into a big roundabout of its own and FDOT officials are studying other solutions big and small as part of its Barrier Island Traffic Study — from a gondola ride to St. Armands Circle to extra bus lines.

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