INDIANTOWN, Fla. (CBS12) — The Martin County Sheriff’s Office, along with FDOT and the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, held a roadway safety and State Road 710 update event on Saturday at Family Park in Indiantown, coinciding with the community’s first-ever farmers market.
The morning event gave residents a chance to speak directly with officials about the planned expansion of SR 710 and ongoing safety concerns along the corridor.
FDOT provided updates on the project to widen the roadway from two lanes to four, a major upgrade aimed at reducing crashes, though construction is not expected to begin until around mid-2029.
Law enforcement leaders, including MCSO Lt. Dan Rosco, were on site to discuss enforcement efforts and crash trends.
Rosco told CBS12 that agencies are working jointly to address repeated serious crashes along the highway, noting, “Big issues that we have out here on 710 is the amount of crashes and specifically the serious bodily injury crashes and fatalities.”
See also: Court adds aggravated stalking charge in Riviera Beach FedEx homicide case
He said enforcement has increased following recent tragedies. “We have stepped it up a little bit more after the beginning of this year,” he said, referencing “two separate fatality crashes that resulted in the deaths of three people.”
Officials emphasized that driver behavior remains the primary factor in severe crashes. Rosco explained that many drivers attempt unsafe passing maneuvers when encountering slower traffic, often leading to head-on collisions. “They see these vehicles traveling slower. They want to go around it. And that’s a lot of the time what our issue is,” he said.
He added that in the past 15 years, “there’s been 39 people that have been killed out here on this roadway,” with most fatal crashes involving vehicles crossing into oncoming traffic.
Rosco also pointed to improvements on the southern portion of SR 710, which was widened to a divided four-lane highway in 2017. “Since that completion we have yet to have a fatal crash on that end,” he said, noting that while crashes still occur, their severity has dropped significantly.
Law enforcement agencies say they are maintaining a zero-tolerance approach to speeding, aggressive driving, and improper passing, with officers issuing citations daily in an effort to reduce dangerous behavior.
Residents were encouraged to attend the event, ask questions, and share concerns as officials continue working on both short-term enforcement and long-term infrastructure improvements.