Much-anticipated overhaul of Daytona's East International Speedway Boulevard to begin
DAYTONA BEACH — In 2010, local leaders were ready to roll up their sleeves and do what was needed to overhaul the long-blighted stretch of International Speedway Boulevard between the Halifax River and State Road A1A.
But by 2016, when roadwork was hoped to be complete, the project had failed to launch.
"It just felt like we were stuck," said state Rep. Tom Leek, R-Ormond Beach.
So Leek and dozens of other officials at the local and state level dug in harder and got the road project on track a few years later. On Friday morning, 13 years after the idea was conceived, those dozens of leaders who refused to let the street makeover die celebrated the start of what will be a roughly 17-month reinvention of the city's main gateway to the beach.
"We never gave up," said ISB Coalition Chair Maryam Ghyabi-White, who's been a major force in several Daytona Beach road projects.
Friday's celebration on a sunny and breezy February day was a victory for all those who struggled with arguments over whether there should be roundabouts on East ISB at A1A and other intersections along the road, if there was enough available property along the corridor to widen it, and how the roughly $30 million venture would be funded.
Former City Manager Jim Chisholm persevered and helped the city acquire the property on the northwest and southwest corners of ISB and A1A. And Chisholm, city commissioners, Florida Department of Transportation officials and eventually new City Manager Deric Feacher figured out how to pay for everything and make it happen.
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"This project will enhance safety, economic prosperity and quality of life," FDOT District 5 Secretary John Tyler said at Friday's groundbreaking. "It's less than one mile in length, but there are no small projects. Every project is important and impactful to the community it's in."
Without a team effort from multiple partners, "we would not be here today," Tyler said.
Tyler said the start of the project is especially momentous since the portion of International Speedway Boulevard from Interstate 95 to the river has undergone improvements in recent years, and the beachside stretch of the road was the final piece of the corridor that needed revitalization.
What's changing on Daytona's East ISB?
The transformation of the eight blocks of East ISB will begin in April, and if all goes as hoped, work will wrap up in the summer of 2024. Survey and utility work will begin prior to April.
Construction will be handled by Port Orange-based Masci General Contractor, Inc.
The project will widen East ISB between the Halifax River bridge and State Road A1A to create enough space for wider traffic lanes on the four-lane road, 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes between the bridge and Halifax Avenue, a 6-foot-wide sidewalk headed westbound, and a 10-foot-wide sidewalk headed eastbound.
The project will add dedicated turning lanes for southbound A1A traffic turning right onto East ISB, and eastbound traffic on ISB turning right to go south on A1A. There will also be enhanced crosswalks at Halifax and Grandview avenues.
Improvements will also include resurfacing of the travel lanes, building a raised median with landscaping, and upgrading the traffic signals at Halifax Avenue, Peninsula Drive, Grandview Avenue and A1A.
During construction, there will be intermittent lane closures on East ISB between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. Intermittent sidewalk detours will be implemented to accommodate pedestrian traffic around work areas.
Electronic message boards and other signage will be used to direct traffic around closures. Access to residences and businesses, as well as pedestrian access, will be maintained throughout the duration of the project, city officials say.
What it's costing to overhaul the road
The roadway makeover isn't coming cheap. The grand tally is more than $30 million.
The $12 million construction cost is being shared by the Florida Department of Transportation and the city of Daytona Beach. FDOT is shouldering the majority of the construction tab with its commitment to contribute $9.58 million. The city is chipping in the remaining $2.58 million.
In addition to construction costs, design expenses tallied nearly $4 million and the land acquisition budget was $12.5 million.
The city also contributed $750,000 to FDOT for design and engineering work, $2.8 million for water and sewer line adjustments and $2 million for undergrounding power lines.
Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said he cracked open a dictionary Friday morning looking for the right words to do justice to the project and its beginning.
"Moments like this are so good, so magnificent and so glorious that I was left without words to describe what a great day this is," Henry said as he looked out at the crowd that included FDOT officials, city commissioners, business leaders, attorneys, city staff members and local residents.
The mayor said the city has wanted to improve East ISB for 20 years, but needed state funding to move forward. He thanked "the partners who helped Daytona Beach reach its destiny."
Henry said the city needs to ride the momentum of the project and chase after more dreams.
"We never want to flatline," he said. "The best is yet to come."
You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Daytona Beach's corridor that leads to the beach getting an overhaul
