Daytona Beach's Mason Avenue on track for $8.9 million in improvements

DAYTONA BEACH —  It's going to take about three years, but nearly $9 million of long-needed improvements are coming to the busy Mason Avenue corridor.

The timeworn stretch of Mason Avenue that runs from Clyde Morris Boulevard east to Beach Street is on deck for road resurfacing, new landscaping, traffic signal upgrades and new sidewalks where there are currently gaps, Florida Department of Transportation engineer Steven Buck told city commissioners at their meeting Wednesday night. Buck said plans also include raising crosswalks, creating pedestrian crossings with in-pavement lighting and flashing signage, reconfiguring business driveways and adding drainage improvements.

Construction is slated to begin in July 2024 and wrap up by the summer or fall of 2025, he said.

FDOT is also considering longer-term improvements for the 2.37-mile stretch of Mason Avenue that could include creating 10-foot-wide shared use paths for bicyclists and pedestrians on both sides of Mason Avenue, building raised intersection tables and redesigning the urban corridor's drainage system.

"It's a very antiquated drainage system," Buck said. "Pieces of it are missing. ... We leaned into redesigning the entire drainage system."

He said Mason Avenue "floods severely," with over half of its lanes under water when a 100-year storm comes through.

The new drainage system would be built underneath the four-lane street, so parts of the road would have to be reconstructed to reconfigure the system, he said.

Read more about Mason Avenue road project: 'A road that needs improvement badly.' Millions in upgrades coming to Mason Avenue

Daytona beachside road poised for improvements: New hope for Daytona's East ISB: $22 million overhaul set to start early next year

Another Daytona Beach street OK'd for upgrades after years of debate: Daytona’s East ISB troubles: Residents share frustration, ideas

FDOT is pursing a grant to help pay for the drainage system.

Design for the roadwork is funded with $1.56 million, and $8.9 million is lined up for construction. Future plans call for another $23.5 million of additional construction work and $6.15 million for design, but those long-term project dollars aren't secured yet.

Big challenges on Mason Avenue

The Mason Avenue corridor is home to everything from an animal hospital to a vacuum store to strip centers long past their prime. The thoroughfare is mainly lined with small mom and pop businesses in buildings that could use a makeover.

There are also plenty of tiny, aging homes just off the road. But there are a few signs of revitalization.

A new Wawa gas station and Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant have recently come to the intersection of Nova Road and Mason Avenue.

Earlier this year, a developer put the 20.5-acre lot on the southeast corner of Mason Avenue and Nova Road under contract to purchase. A preliminary site plan submitted to the city's planning department showed three tenants for the large property dotted with trees: a 7-Eleven gas station and convenience store, Mister Car Wash and self-storage center.

Walmart has been trying to sell the vacant land for five years, but now a for sale sign is up on the property again.

It's a road where not much comes easy. Even the new roadwork will be a challenge with the limited right of way, just 70 feet.

Mason Avenue also has sight distance obstructions, missing sections of sidewalk, side streets that are off center from intersections and insufficiencies with bus stop accessibility, Buck said. The roadway can also make travel difficult for bicyclists, and there is a lack of pedestrian crossings, he said.

Up to four new pedestrian crossings could be added.

There were 492 car crashes on Mason Avenue between Clyde Morris Boulevard and Ridgewood Avenue over the past two years, according to police department records. Seven people died in those vehicular accidents, figures show.

Mason Avenue is a state road, and FDOT has been studying the thoroughfare "for some time now," Buck said. The roadway was due for a resurfacing, an upgrade made about once every 20 years that involves removing and replacing the top inch or two of asphalt.

Then city and FDOT officials started talking about other improvements and the project expanded, Buck said.

FDOT "has had a great spirit of partnership and has been great to work with," Assistant City Manager Andrew Holmes said.

Part of the FDOT study involved talking to local residents and going from business to business up and down the corridor to chat with the owners and employees who work there. Most people said they want better bicycle and pedestrian features along Mason Avenue, Buck said.

The business owners said they want improved safety, he said.

City Commissioner Paula Reed said she doesn't want to see the roadwork get bogged down and Mason Avenue businesses cut off from their customers. That's what happened when the Orange Avenue overhaul several years ago shut down that corridor longer than expected, and many businesses struggled to stay afloat.

Past road projects have also left Beach Street and Main Street businesses feeling handicapped while the work went on, but Buck said that shouldn't be an issue with Mason Avenue.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach's Mason Avenue slated for resurfacing, safety upgrades