Siesta Key residential street resurfacing begins

Sarasota County has embarked on a paving project to resurface a significant portion of residential streets on Siesta Key. 

The $11.4 million project includes milling and paving, pavement striping, Americans with Disabilities Act ramp modifications, curb repairs, roadway base repairs and school zone sign improvements.

The county has contracted with Ajax Paving Industries of Florida to perform the work. Estimated completion is January 2025.

“We have about $15 million allocated for resurfacing projects within the category and every year, and this time we want to do as much as possible on Siesta Key,” said Alex Bublik, the county’s project manager. “With this project we’re paving a mile of Beach Road from near the Midnight Pass intersection and going north, pretty much the whole stretch of Beach Road. We also have neighborhood roads off the island south of Stickney Point Road.”

Concrete work — largely ADA improvements to build and make improvements on handicap ramps and curb repairs — was set to begin this week. Street resurfacing is expected to start in mid-July. The project will cover 37 lane miles.

Outside of the work on Beach Road, currently the street resurfacing plan is to start at Siesta Key Circle and move south through many of the neighborhoods. Once the identified Siesta Key streets are finished, the work will move off island, west of Tamiami Trail and south of Stickney Point Road.

On Siesta Key, the bulk of the neighborhood streets slated for resurfacing are between Ocean Boulevard and Midnight Pass Road on the northern half of the key.

The streets for resurfacing were selected by the county’s Public Works Department.

“Public Works has a program that identifies the condition of asphalt in neighborhoods and then they choose the worst,” Bublik said. “Maybe Beach Road is not the worst, but it is a heavily traveled road, and it's where we get quite a few complaints.”

Construction will occur 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. While delays on neighborhood streets will be minimal, motorists can expect delays on Beach Road.

“We will close usually one lane at a time so the residents will have access to their homes,” Bublik said. “At times there may be something like a 30-minute delay (to access driveways). We have to wait for the asphalt to cool down before they can drive on it.”

Residents will receive door hangers three days prior to work beginning on their street. More information is available at SCGov.net or by calling 311.