Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/348392
On the morning of July 11, Sarasota County commissioners and staff joined Bee Ridge neighborhood representatives at Sarasota County Fire Station No. 8, located at 6750 Bee Ridge Road, to break ground for a $22 million project residents of the area long have sought. From Mauna Loa Boulevard to east of Bent Tree Boulevard, Bee Ridge will be widened to four lanes. From Bent Tree to Iona Road, the two lanes will be reconstructed. The County Commission approved the work during votes in late May. The total project covers 2.61 miles. It is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2016, according to a county news release. The contractor is Westra Construction Corp. of Palmetto. The roadway segment from Mauna Loa to Bent Tree, a distance of 1.68 miles, will be reconstructed to a four-lane divided urban roadway with a landscaped median, a 10-foot sidewalk on the south side, bicycle lanes, three roundabouts, landscaping and LED street lighting, the release explains. The Mauna Loa Boulevard intersection will remain signalized, it notes. The segment from Bent Tree to Iona, a dis- tance of 0.93 miles, will be milled and resurfaced with the addition of bike lanes, a 10-foot sidewalk on the south side, LED street lighting and reconstruction of the Iona Road/ Bee Ridge Extension intersection as a one- lane roundabout, the release notes. During the ceremony at the fire station, attendees heard remarks from Charles Hines, chairman of the County Commission, as well as Commissioner Joe Barbetta, Chief County Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. and Joe O'Hara of the Bee Ridge Neighborhood Committee. COMMUNITY LEADERS BREAK GROUND ON BEE RIDGE PROJECT County Commission Chairman Charles Hines (left), Commissioner Joe Barbetta (second from right) and County Administrator Tom Harmer (right) join Bee Ridge Neighborhood Committee representatives in the groundbreaking. Photo courtesy Sarasota County County Chief Engineer James K. Harriott Jr. addresses the group gathered for the ceremony on July 11. Photo courtesy Sarasota County Sarasota News Leader July 18, 2014 Page 75