County plans new signal for Edgewater entrance

LAKEWOOD RANCH — Residents of Edgewater soon will have the safety net of a traffic signal when they exit their community onto University Parkway.

Manatee County has budgeted $400,000 in fiscal year 2014 to install a traffic signal at the intersection, which connects Edgewater’s Waterview Boulevard entrance with the Lakewood Ranch Corporate Park’s Business Boulevard to the south.

The action comes after a warrant study, conducted in March, confirmed what Edgewater residents already feared: The non-signalized intersection presents a safety hazard, especially as East County continues to grow and University Parkway absorbs more traffic.

“This is something where the money will be well spent,” said Vanessa Baugh, Manatee County District 5 commissioner and a former Edgewater resident who worked with the county to secure funding for the project. “The bottom line is this is something we really need, as Lakewood Ranch grows and University Parkway becomes busier.”

A timeline for the project has not been set yet. A project budgeted for a specific fiscal year does not need to be completed during the same fiscal year. The 2014 fiscal year began Oct. 1 and ends Sept. 30.
Nick Azzara, Manatee County information outreach coordinator, expects light construction to begin in October — after the next fiscal year begins.

Currently, the county public works department is working through issues, determining the needs of the project and how much it will cost.

The county is under contract with an engineering firm to design the structure and prepare a construction plan. The design process should take six to nine months and could be finished by June, Azzara said.
Construction for the project — a job that will be publicly bid — should also take six to nine months.

Brent Morris, the project manager for the job, and Jeff Streitmatter, the division manager, say crews must do a survey of the intersection to inspect underground utilities such as gas and electrical lines.

Crews will drill 11 to 15 feet into the ground to install a shaft that supports the pole from which the traffic light hangs.

Construction and design will not result in any road closures.

“Every one of these traffic signal projects is fairly unique, so we have to prepare for everything,” Morris said.

Contact Josh Siegel at [email protected].