DeSantis’ plan for Florida infrastructure includes $53M to widen a major road in Manatee

A dangerous stretch of State Road 70 in fast-developing East Manatee County has earned a spot on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ list of recommended funding proposals to improve highway safety and relieve congestion.

Under the proposal, $53 million would go to widening S.R. 70 between Bourneside Boulevard and Waterbury Road, more commonly referred to as County Road 675.

The proposed expenditure is part of a $7 billion program to safely handle the growing number of drivers on Florida roads.

Even before Schroeder-Manatee Ranch begins building an estimated 7,000 homes in the area, State Road 70 traffic has become appreciably heavier.

“Around 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., the traffic is heaviest. The road cannot handle it,” said Myakka City resident Danny Cacchiotti, a former two-decade fire chief.

“One of the big issues is traffic on State Road 70. It needs to be dealt with,” Cacchiotti said. “If the governor can put some muscle behind it, that’s a good thing.”

If passed by the Legislature, DeSantis’ “Moving Florida Forward” proposal would invest $4 billion of general revenue across the state, redirect an average of $131 million annually to the State Transportation Work Program, and leverage additional funding over the next four years for a total of $7 billion, a press release from the governor’s office this week said.

The stretch of highway in DeSantis’ proposal is east of the Lakewood Ranch Del Webb community, runs past Panther Ridge, and ends at C.R. 675, the turnoff to East Manatee’s Hunsader Farms and Fiorelli Winery.

County Road 675 itself is rapidly developing as more and more rooftops are proposed for the area.

The Manatee County Planning Commission agenda for Feb. 9 includes a public hearing for East River Ranch to consider a request by developer Carlos Beruff to rezone 1,381.63 acres of agricultural land.

The developer of East River Ranch is proposing a total of 5,378 dwelling units, including single-family detached, single-family semi-detached, single-family attached and multi-family, Bill Logan, Manatee County’s information outreach manager, confirmed in an email Wednesday.

The property, just south of Hunsader Farms, backs up to property where Schroeder-Manatee Ranch is seeking approvals for 4,500 single-family homes on 2,307 acres, according to Manatee County records.

In addition, Rye Ranch LLC, with John Falkner as managing member, one of Manatee County’s largest property owners, filed paperwork in 2021 seeking approvals to develop 3,500 homes on 1,368.5 acres of farm land at 17855 County Road 675.

“This proposal will break through bureaucracy that often slows down infrastructure projects and allow FDOT to target projects that will ease congestion across the state,” DeSantis said in a press release. “Expediting these projects will bring them to completion more than a decade ahead of schedule.”

Also included in the DeSantis’ list of 20 statewide projects is a requested $192 million appropriation for the overhaul of the Fruitville Road-Interstate 75 interchange in Sarasota County.

The largest appropriation proposed by DeSantis is for chronically overcrowded Interstate 4, where traffic often comes to a standstill.

Proposed:

▪ I-4 from Champions Gate Gate to Osceola Parkway - $1.451 billion

▪ I-4 from U.S. 27 to Champions Gate - $635 million

▪ I-4 at State Road 33 interchange - $197 million