INDIANTOWN, Fla. (CBS12) — The Martin County Sheriff has flat-out called State Road 710, a “death trap” after a series of deadly crashes along the rural highway also known as Warfield Boulevard.

The narrow, two-lane road connects Okeechobee County and Martin County, taking drivers through long stretches with just one lane in each direction and little room for error.

In the first two weeks of January alone, six people were killed in crashes along the stretch in Martin County, according to the sheriff’s office.

“It’s pretty dangerous. I’ve seen a couple cars almost hit me head-on,” one driver said.

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Speeding is a major concern. Drivers frequently pass in no-passing zones, weaving in and out of traffic, even with posted “no passing” signs.

Deputies say they’ve also seen the opposite problem: drivers moving far below the 60-mile-per-hour speed limit, sometimes as slow as 25 miles per hour.

According to the Okeechobee County Sheriff’s Office, those drastic speed differences are triggering risky passing maneuvers and near misses.

“They try to pass them and go around, or they’re just driving too slow and too many cars, it just causes too many problems,” said a driver who didn’t want to be identified.

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is planning a major expansion of State Road 710, widening it from two lanes to four to cut down on the number of crashes.

But construction isn’t expected to begin until mid-2029.

State Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) said he’s keeping the pressure on FDOT to keep the project moving fast but safely.

“We’re talking about a $320 million major infrastructure overhaul and so we want to get it done right,” he said.

Rep. Snyder recently met with FDOT’s regional secretary and has been pushing to move that timeline up. However, he says a lot still needs to happen before shovels ever go into the ground.

“Things are happening, but like any large-scale infrastructure project there is a design phase; there’s a permitting phase; there’s a land acquisition phase, but the journey has begun,” Snyder said.

While drivers wait for the larger expansion, FDOT plans to implement several safety improvements in the coming months, including adding roadway lighting, rumble strips and another passing lane.

Nick Giampaolo of Okeechobee says even small changes could make a difference.

“A little bit of a wider road, some more barriers, some lights, yeah, it’d be nice,” Giampaolo said.

Those short-term fixes should roll out over the next few months.