State and local officials Friday celebrated the completion of the $61 million River Road (State Road 777) widening project in Sarasota County.
The project expands five miles of River Road from two lanes to six lanes between U.S. 41 and I-75, tripling roadway capacity and providing significant congestion relief for Southwest Florida residents, businesses, and visitors.
"So this is a $61 million project between the state and Sarasota County. and it expands 5 mile corridor from 2 lanes to 6 lanes between US 41 and I-75," Gov. Ron DeSantis said of thew road parameters. "We've made upgrades to the pedestrian and bike paths along the route. "We've enhanced crosswalks, improved lighting, and we've made this street safer for pedestrians and drivers alike. We've also added two new wildlife underpasses, which have been proven to cut down on wildlife collisions in other parts of the state where they have been implemented."
River Road has been a longstanding regional transportation priority, supported through coordination among FDOT, Sarasota County, the Sarasota/Manatee MPO, and other regional partners.
Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman explained how the widening benefits the entire region:
"We found out after Hurricane Ian just how important River Road is. If you remember, we had historic flooding of the Myakka River. River Road is the last exit to get off before you go over that bridge. We needed a detour route. River Road could have been that detour route. This project is going to make it available for hurricane evacuations and detours. And heaven forbid, if we ever have another bad hurricane, we're going to have now the solution," he said
While the original project plans included the expansion of River Road to four lanes, FDOT sought opportunities to provide even more relief to the surrounding community by increasing roadway capacity to six total lanes along the entire five-mile corridor.
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