Venice’s River Road to undergo $47.5 million improvement project
VENICE, Fla. - A quiet Venice country road that has turned into a congested corridor that sees its fair share of fatal crashes is about to get a much-needed makeover.
River Road is no longer the quiet two-lane road it once was.
"There are quite a few accidents compared to what it used to be," stated Venice resident Greg Vensel.
Vensel has watched the traffic increase over the years and says as the number of vehicles grew, so did the number of crashes.
"There used to be none and now there’s probably one every couple of months I would say," Vensel explained.
Residents of North Port and Venice have asked for changes and on Friday morning, ground was broken on a road-widening project.
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"The major focus of this corridor widening is going to be safety," said L.K Nandam the district one secretary for the Florida Department of Transportation. "Driving down fatalities and severe injuries to zero is a major goal for the department,"
The improvements include a dramatic widening of River Road from two lanes to six lanes, from Center Road to U.S 41. Moving past Center Road, there will be four lanes of traffic to I-75.
"I’ve been in this area since 1978 and the widening of River Road has actually been needed since then," said North Port Mayor Pete Emrich.
Construction is slated to cost $47.5 million and should be finished by 2025. The road will also be improved to stop flooding.
"When it rains, it lives up to the name River Road. The people in the community here just clamoring here for widening and a safer road," said Congressman Greg Steube.
There will also be medians added in and lights, along with a partial U-turn at Center Road to prevent crashes.
"This is actually happening for the people who live here. For the people who traverse this road every single day. It’ll be a safe road for their communities. It’ll be a safer road for their families," said Congressman Steube.
The biggest hope, is that crashes will stop and those traveling the road will make it home safely, every day.
"As much as we don’t like having the road torn up and some of the woods and everything destroyed, it’s just progress I guess," said Vensel.