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Neighbors fed up with FDOT road improvement project
Justin Matthews reports
VENICE, Fla. - River Road is undergoing a big expansion, and some neighbors in the Grand Palm subdivision in Venice aren't happy about it.
Some residents who moved in within the last couple of years said there were 100 feet of woods between their backyards and the road, but not anymore.
Now that FDOT is widening it, the trees have come down and neighbors said they weren’t told about the project before they moved in.
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"No idea whatsoever, we were not told about it, we had no idea about it, and this is what we found when we came to do our walkthrough, the woods were gone, the trees were coming down, and we were told it was going to be a six-lane highway along with a bus route traffic lights, streetlights, and no more privacy," said Terry Mannella, whose property runs parallel to River Road.
Neighbors said what’s happening behind their homes now is completely different compared to when they moved in. Some said they feel like they were lied to or mislead, so they’d still buy.
"There were a lot more trees, we were sold that this was a premium lot, that nothing was going to be built behind us as far as homes, we were on a preserve, no one ever told us that we were going to have a six-lane road in our backyard," said Rachel Cox, who moved into her Grand Palm home two years ago.
FDOT said this project has been in the works for a long time. FOX 13 reached out to the developer of Grand Palm, Neal Communities. A spokesperson said in a statement:
"Neal communities has actively disclosed the widening of river road to prospective buyers and current homeowners. We recognize the impact this will have on the residents who live along that corridor. We have had several meetings with the residents and will continue to work with them, FDOT and the county as this project progresses."
Many neighbors moved in from out-of-state and said there’s no way they would’ve known about the plans before moving in.
Mennella said she wants FDOT or Neal Communities to build a barrier wall to block out the noise and keep the community safe. For now, a wall isn’t part of the plan.