STUART \u2014 The Martin County Metropolitan Planning Organization on Oct. 27 received an update from Florida Department of Transportation officials on progress within the current five-year work program, which wraps up next year, and voted unanimously to approve FDOT\u2019s Draft Tentative Work Program for 2027\u20132031.<\/p>\n
MPO Administrator Beth Beltrand opened the discussion by recognizing District 4 Secretary Steve Braun and his staff for their continued collaboration.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are fortunate to have District 4 Secretary Steve Braun here with staff that are wonderful to work with,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have done so much to support us and the MPO\u2019s priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n
Braun thanked the board in return, noting his early career was shaped by major projects in the region.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs some of you know, I cut my teeth on several key projects in this region,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s always great coming here and bringing back memories of collaboration over the years.\u201d<\/p>\n
FDOT overview<\/p>\n
Braun provided an overview of FDOT\u2019s responsibilities statewide and within District 4, which includes Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties.<\/p>\n
Statewide, FDOT oversees 12,000 lane miles, four commercial airports, and the three largest cruise ports in the world. Its 10,000-plus active contracts total $19 billion, generating about $47 million in daily economic output.<\/p>\n
District 4 alone includes four million residents, 783 bridges, more than 6,000 lane miles, 92 airports and three deep-water ports.<\/p>\n
Draft 2027\u20132031 Work Plan<\/p>\n
Braun outlined the district\u2019s proposed five-year, $5.7 billion work program. Population growth projections \u2014 41 percent in St. Lucie County, 27 percent in Indian River County and 19 percent in Palm Beach County by 2050 \u2014 are driving many of the improvements.<\/p>\n
The proposed allocations include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 $126 million for safety enhancements<\/p>\n
\u2022 $507.4 million for resurfacing<\/p>\n
\u2022 $162.8 million for bridge repair and replacement<\/p>\n
\u2022 $2.4 billion for roadway improvements<\/p>\n
\u2022 $125.8 million for right-of-way acquisition<\/p>\n
\u2022 $815.6 million for consultant support<\/p>\n
\u2022 $846.6 million for operations and maintenance<\/p>\n
\u2022 $784.9 million for transit and other modal programs<\/p>\n
Current and Recent Projects<\/p>\n
Much of the 2022\u20132026 work program focuses on State Road 714 (Martin Highway) and State Road 710, two of the MPO\u2019s highest priorities.<\/p>\n
Braun thanked residents for their patience through the SR 714 capacity improvements, which added lanes, bike facilities and sidewalks, and included widening the Turnpike bridge.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that funding for SR 710 has taken longer, despite a history of fatal crashes on the corridor. FDOT recently added a turn lane at Tommy Clemmons Street to enhance safety until full construction is funded.<\/p>\n
How the process works<\/p>\n
District Planning & Environmental Administrator Cesar Martinez explained that the draft program was developed with MPO staff over the past three months and will now move on to the central office, governor\u2019s office, the Federal Transportation Commission and the Department of Commerce. The final work program must be approved by July 1.<\/p>\n
Top priorities<\/p>\n
Martinez reviewed the MPO\u2019s 18 priorities, beginning with the long-planned SR 710 improvements.<\/p>\n
The design phase for the full corridor between Okeechobee County and Allapattah Road is underway at $10.7 million. Right-of-way acquisition begins in 2027 at $21 million.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Segment A, from the Martin County line to 126th Boulevard, is fully funded, with construction scheduled for 2030.<\/p>\n
\u2022 CR 714 realignment, at $6.9 million, is planned for 2029.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Segment D, from Van Buren to Allapattah Road, is funded for FY 2030 construction at $17.2 million.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Segments B and C, between Allapattah Road and the FPL power plant area, are new additions this year, totaling nearly $300 million.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Segments A and E, covering realignments extending into Okeechobee County, are funded in FY 2029 and FY 2030.<\/p>\n
During discussion, Commissioner Stacey Hetherington urged FDOT to install a traffic signal at SR 710 and Allapattah Road, calling it one of the county\u2019s most dangerous intersections. Martinez said FDOT is analyzing the request but has not reached a determination.<\/p>\n
Other priorities include:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Cove Road widening, from Kanner Highway to U.S. 1 \u2014 PD&E is complete; the $4.6 million design phase is funded, and additional right-of-way funds are programmed for FY 2027.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Bridge Road bridge replacement \u2014 determined not immediately necessary.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Unfunded projects, including Commerce Avenue resurfacing; complete street upgrades on Southwest Palm City Road; a mid-block pedestrian crossing on East Ocean Boulevard; resurfacing on Southeast Pomeroy, Southwest Citrus Boulevard and Southwest Allapattah Road; a resiliency project on North Sewall\u2019s Point Road; and a southbound right-turn lane from Kanner Highway onto South River Drive.<\/p>\n
\u2022 High Meadow Avenue widening \u2014 PD&E was completed last month; design has begun at $2.3 million, and $1.5 million in right-of-way funding was added this cycle.<\/p>\n
Final approval<\/p>\n
Commission Chairwoman Sarah Heard thanked FDOT for accelerating the SR 710 widening.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe recognize that a great deal of funding was reallocated in District 4 for the 710 widening, and we are eternally grateful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The MPO then voted unanimously to approve the 2027\u20132031 Draft Tentative Work Program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"STUART \u2014 The Martin County Metropolitan Planning Organization on Oct. 27 received an update from Florida Department of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":49224,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[326,171,173,172],"class_list":{"0":"post-49223","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-port-st-lucie","8":"tag-martin","9":"tag-port-st-lucie","10":"tag-port-st-lucie-headlines","11":"tag-port-st-lucie-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}