State Road 70 runs east and west through the heart of Okeechobee’s busy commercial district funneling trucks and commuters from coast to coast.  And busy roads tend to have more accidents. 

That's why the state is considering reducing the number of left turns lanes as well as narrowing the width of traffic lanes from 12 feet to 11.

The tentative plans, shared with the Okeechobee County Commission recently, were not met with enthusiasm.

"I'm glad that y'all want to come in here and help our county and city. That's wonderful, and we do need some help with our roadways and our traffic," said County Commissioner Bradley Goodbread, "....but as the old saying goes, the scariest 10 words in English language are: ‘I'm from the government. I'm here to help you.'” 

After the state's presentation, Goodbread reminded the state workers that the  transportation department had previously suggested narrowing portions of SR 70's lanes on a different stretch of the highway — and that proposal was also shot down by the county.    

Goodbread also said the lack of turning lanes could be a real hardship for businesses. 

"There's a lot of truck traffic going from the east coast to the west coast on 70 and I think that it's constricting those lanes by a foot, it's going to be a lot when it comes down to it," he said. "I think we're going to have more, probably not fatal crashes, but more crashes."
 
Goodbread wasn't the only one to shoot down the proposal.

One of the presenters of the plan said he would take the commissioners' comments back to his team as they continue to conduct traffic analyses. 

To learn more about the tentative road changes as well as other Florida Department of Transportation projects, go to www.swflroads.com.

WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.