The Lake Sarasota Community Blog

We asked a representative from FDOT to update us on plans for the Bee Ridge interchange. Here's the latest as of today: The Florida Department of Transportation anticipates conducting informational meetings in late-January/early-February 2017 where display boards will be set up in an open-house format in which attendees will have the opportunity to view the project and ask questions of FDOT staff and its project engineering consultant team. A video presentation will also be provided that will review the history of the project, a detailed description of the current design and hopefully address many of the questions you and others may have about the project. Check for updates at the project website . Two questions: 1. Does the plan for the continuous flow intersection at Cattlemen call for two legs or four?      The slide attached, of the Bee Ridge Road/Cattlemen Road intersection, was taken from the presentation given during the July 26, 2016 public hearing. As s...

The Lake Sarasota Community will hold a regular meeting on Thurs. February 11, 2016 - all residents are welcome. As usual, the meeting will be in one of the conference rooms behind Sarasota Alliance Church, 7 pm to 8:30 pm. Information Front entrance sign - we'll have an image of the County's proposed Lake Sarasota sign for Mauna Loa entrance -- questions, comments. Update on Bee Ridge roadwork and FDOT's I-75 plan. Summary of Sheriff and Code Enforcement recommendations (Handout) "No Solicitors" signage? Cost? Action items LSCG: Renew 501 status?  If yes, then Elect Officers

The release below from FDOT offers a brief overview of the plan for Bee Ridge Road and I-75, with major changes, and widened roads and highway. Note there is a public information gathering on Tuesday Dec. 15th - details below. The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District One is preparing design plans for future widening of approximately 3.8 miles of Interstate 75 (I-75) from south of Bee Ridge Road to south of Fruitville Road and reconstruction of the I-75/Bee Ridge Road interchange in Sarasota County, Florida. In December 2011, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) approved a preferred alternative from the Project Development and Environmental (PD&E) study of I-75 from south of SR 681 to north of University Parkway in Sarasota and Manatee counties. As part of the PD&E study, two public hearings were held in 2009. At the I-75/Bee Ridge Road interchange, the preferred alternative maintained the existing partial cloverleaf interchange but added turn lanes o...

Aerial of Bee Ridge Rd from Cattlemen Rd to Mauna Loa Blvd. On Tuesday, Dec. 15, District One staff of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will hold a public workshop regarding design improvements to Interstate 75 from south of Bee Ridge Road to south of Fruitville Road in Sarasota County, the department has announced. The session has been scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the offices of the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, located at 2320 Cattlemen Road in Sarasota, a news release says. FDOT will give interested persons the opportunity to view the proposed design, review displays, talk one-on-one with staff and make comments about the project, the release adds. The 3.8-mile project will include reconstruction of the I-75 interchange at Bee Ridge Road from the existing diamond configuration to a hybrid diverging diamond interchange and southbound diversion ramp, the release says. The department also will transform the intersection of Bee Ridge Road ...

Public Information Meeting I-75 (SR 93) / University Parkway Diverging Diamond Interchange Construction Project Sarasota/Bradenton, FL – The Florida Department of Transportation is hosting a public information meeting from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at Keiser University located at 6151 Lake Osprey Drive in Sarasota. The public may arrive anytime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. andview an animation of the project design and talk one-on-one with project staff about the I-75/University Parkway Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) project. There will be no formal presentation. Construction begins in August 2015 with completion in fall 2017. Improvements being made as part of this project consist of constructing a diverging diamond interchange, adding an auxiliary lane on northbound and southbound I-75, constructing new bridges on I-75 over University Pkwy., widening of University Pkwy., widening of I-75 bridges over Erie Creek and Foley Creek, realignment of on-ramp...

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District One, is holding a public information meeting regarding  design improvements to Interstate 75 (I-75) from north of Fruitville Road to north of University Parkway in Sarasota and Manatee counties.  The  public meeting is being held from  4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 26, 2014  at the Holiday Inn Lakewood Ranch Osprey Room, 6231 Lake Osprey Drive, Sarasota, Florida 34240.  FDOT will hold this meeting to give interested persons the opportunity to view the proposed design, review displays, talk one-on-one with staff, and make comments about the project. The 3.5 mile design project includes reconstructing the I-75/University Parkway interchange from the existing diamond design to a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) design , the first DDI in Florida to advance to the final design phase. The project also widens I-75, from north of Fruitville Road to north of University Parkway, to an eight-l...

Status report on Bee Ridge Road project An update on several aspects of the Bee Ridge Road Project from the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee: This article is being written on 1/11/2014 and only reflects information available at that time. Current work Projects Recently, “Start work 1/8/2014” signs went up on Bee Ridge. Those signs have nothing to do with the Bee Ridge widening project. They are related to the FDOT work that has now begun at the I-75 interchange. That project calls for repaving under I-75 and the addition of a sidewalk on the South side of Bee Ridge from the beginning of the State responsibility to Cattleman road. The side walk will connect to side walk being placed by the County under the Bee Ridge project. The FDOT project is scheduled for 120 days, dependent on weather. The sidewalk was not on the FDOT schedule until after 2108, but due to the efforts of the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee, the work is being done now. Verizon is placing conduit on the S...

The Lake Sarasota Community Group voted unanimously to go forward with a Neighborhood Grant Application that would be used to beautify Mauna Loa Boulevard and create a children's ecological walkway from Mauna Loa to the school crossing at Hand Road. The group -- a non-profit, all-volunteer association that collects no dues and does not impose deed restrictions -- took the action at its regular Sept. 12th general meeting. Sarasota County is currently accepting applications for neighborhood grants for up to $10,000. Proposals must be in by November and those that are accepted for funding will hear in early 2014. The focus on Mauna Loa evolved over the course of a lengthy brainstorming session that considered other options. What made it most appealing was the potential to tie in the planting of attractive trees and plants along the length of Mauna Loa with the prospective new landscaping that the County intends to install along Bee Ridge Road when that road is widened. The ide...

It appears that FDOT is looking into the possibility of putting up a noise wall to buffer Lake Sarasota from sound coming from I-75. A hearing was held in February, and another will be held on May 21, at St. John's United Methodist Church, 6611 Proctor Rd. Open House at 6 p.m.m, Presentation at 7 p.m. More below - click to enlarge the images.