Road-raising timeline extends on Longboat

With the thought of fast-tracked roadway raising in three flood-prone neighborhoods now in the rearview mirror, the town is finding a slightly slower lane is the more-likely path forward.

Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman said in late June that early financial estimates of the resiliency work planned in Sleepy Lagoon, Buttonwood Estates, Longbeach Village and elsewhere are proving low.

So, what was originally envisioned as a potential 2-year timeline might extend to five unless new sources of funding or lower-cost alternatives can be found. For its part, the town in its current budget proposal is setting aside upward of $6.4 million through 2030 to pay matching portions of anticipated grants. Not all of that money is in hand, though, but there’s still time, Brownman said, especially for the furthest-flung projections.

Anticipated matching money moving forward looks like:

• Fiscal year 2027: $697,054
• Fiscal year 2028: $1.47 million
• Fiscal year 2029: $1.45 million
• Fiscal year 2030: $2.76 million

“We get a grant, we owe 25%, the numbers you see in fiscal years ’27 through ’30 are the 25% we owe,’’ Brownman said, adding grants for 2030 have yet to be awarded because they are larger, and typically the smaller amounts get awarded sooner.

Two of those projects in 2030 are Penfield Street, General Harris Street and Marbury Lane in Sleepy Lagoon, along with phases three and four of Longbeach Village. The Sleepy Lagoon construction estimate is now $5.4 million overall, Public Works Director Charlie Mopps said, and the final phases of Longbeach Village are roughly the same.

The town recently received word that grant money for matching funds was forthcoming for the two initial phases of Longbeach Village. Phase one work there is expected in the next year, as is work on Norton Street.

“In order to qualify for those grants, we have to have our own 25% in hand and dedicated,’’ Town Commissioner Sarah Karon said. “So, a lot of this is just timing of qualifying for grants we do not want to miss the opportunity to get, but in order to get them, it kind of plays out over time.’’

Raising the level of roadways in flood-prone areas, which in many cases represent some of the lowest elevations on Longboat Key, is a cornerstone of the town’s resiliency efforts. Though the hurricanes of 2024 brought the issue into renewed focus, the issue is far from new. Sleepy Lagoon residents for years have called for improvements in their neighborhood, as have residential groups around the island. In early 2022, the town launched a stormwater assessment of flood-prone neighborhoods, which ultimately recommended roadway raising as a critical step the town could take. Town Manager Howard Tipton said town staff would likely reach out again to neighborhood groups.

Brownman said if in the interim money can be saved on a project and it can move forward sooner than originally budgeted, it will. “We just can’t promise it right now.’’ Design also is advancing on all of the envisioned projects that also include work on Gulfside Drive.

While stretched out longer than initially planned, work is moving forward, Town Manager Howard Tipton said.

“We’re not stopped, we’re continuing on where we can,’’ Tipton said. “We’re still going after the grants full bore.’’