New traffic lights get green light

Three of Longboat Key’s traffic signals are being replaced with newer and safer models.

The new traffic signals will be located on Gulf of Mexico Drive at the intersections of Longboat Club Road, the Longboat Key Fire Rescue South Station and Bay Isles Parkway, as part of the Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) $2.3 million road resurfacing project in Sarasota County.

Larger mast arms on the new traffic signals will allow for the installation of a sign facing the traffic coming from Bay Isles Parkway that reads: “Left Turn Yield On Green.”  

The yield sign was added in response to safety concerns expressed by the residents of the Islands West community. 

Installation of the traffic lights will begin next week.

The signs will be installed between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m., with intermittent lane closures. 

Weather permitting, the installation should be complete within a week. 

The installation coincides with a paving project that began in October and involves removing old asphalt and resurfacing the road, shoulder work, curb and gutter modifications and the addition of new sidewalks, pavement markings and necessary highway signs.

FDOT spokesperson Darren Alfonso said that any state road project being performed within 10 miles of the coast now requires that traffic signals be updated.

“The new signalization mast arms can better accommodate high wind speeds of up to 130 miles per hour,” Alfonso said.

The entire paving project is scheduled for completion at the end of March.

Contact Kurt Schultheis at [email protected]