Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/344348
It has compiled 17 hefty documents running into the thousands of pages. Issues related to noise, wetlands, environmental contami- nation and cultural and historical resources have all been incorporated in them, in addi- tion to the preliminary engineering work. The project will span three city parks, includ- ing Centennial and its boat ramps at 10th Street. Special planning was necessary to allow for vehicles hauling trailers. Special attention also was paid to enabling pedestri- ans to cross U.S. 41 to reach those three parks. "Splitter islands" will serve as safe havens in the middle of the roadway. The venture is expected to begin in April 2017. It will not be constructed piecemeal; instead, it will be treated as one large project. The total cost is now estimated at nearly $11 million. City Engineer Alex DavisShaw says the trickiest part of the construction will be the detours. "If we only work at night, it takes longer because we have to move the machin- ery and supplies to the site every night and remove them around dawn," she explained. Working full-time means diverting traffic with detours. But 10th Street needs to stay open because it is the only access to the boat ramps, one of the city's primary means for boaters to reach the bay. "These are things we're still working on," she said. During construction, locals will soon realize the Tamiami Trail will not be the fastest way to go north. At the peak of tourist season, as many as 40,000 vehicles per day use that roadway. % Ryan Chapdelain, a staff member with the city's Neighborhood and Development Services Department, explains a detail to Parks, Recreation and Environmental Protection Advisory Board Chairwoman Millie Small. Photo by Stan Zimmerman Sarasota News Leader July 11, 2014 Page 44