Construction is to start in October on $33 million worth of St. Lucie West road projects that are designed to alleviate the traffic jams plaguing morning and evening rush hours.
Port St. Lucie plans to spend $15.2 million improving St. Lucie West roads in the next 10 years with the money raised by a half-percent sales tax hike voters approved in November.
Florida Department of Transportation plans to spend another $17.8 million modernizing the Interstate 95 interchange at St. Lucie West Boulevard starting in fall 2021, including the construction of a new bridge over the highway.
Several St. Lucie West and Torino residents who attended an April 24 public meeting about the city projects said they believe the road improvements will make it easier to cope with the traffic.
“They’re definitely going to help,” Lourdes Lassales of Torino said about the projects. “It’s to the point to where anything they do is going to really improve it.”
“It can get pretty bad,” Lassales said about St. Lucie West traffic. “There are certain times where it is very hard to navigate in a city where I was not expecting it would be like that. I’m from Miami originally, so I was just thinking the traffic would be better managed. But it’s not because there are not enough roads to get to the different areas of the city.”
Even without the new projects, several St. Lucie West residents and city officials said they expect some relief from traffic congestion after Crosstown Parkway opens in the fall. About 35,500 vehicles per day travel on St. Lucie West Boulevard between I-95 and Cashmere Boulevard, county traffic records show.
Construction will start in October and be finished by March on $1.2 million in improvements to St. Lucie West Boulevard at its intersections with Peacock, Cashmere and Bayshore boulevards, said city Transportation Engineer Heath Stockton.
“We’ll be done before spring training,” Stockton said.
Peacock Boulevard leads to First Data Field, the spring training home of the New York Mets. Pitchers and catchers traditionally start formal workouts on Feb. 14.
Most of the intersection work involves adding and/or extending turn lanes, city records said.
Through lanes will also be added at Bayshore and Cashmere boulevards.
Port St. Lucie also plans to spend $2 million constructing traffic circles at East Torino Parkway’s intersections with California and Cashmere boulevards, just north of St. Lucie West.
Northbound Cashmere and California boulevards end in “T” intersections with stop signs at East Torino Parkway, making it difficult for northbound traffic to make left hand turns.
Those intersections fail to meet St. Lucie County’s congestion standards during the morning rush hour, records show.
Work on the twin roundabouts is expected to start in October and be complete by July, Stockton said. A new sidewalk will be built on the north side of East Torino Parkway to connect the traffic circles.
Several Torino residents said they’re looking forward to the improvements to ease traffic congestion and make walking safer.
“The traffic is horrendous,” said Alan Sawransky, who lives at East Torino Parkway and California Boulevards. “There are accidents all the time.” Three motorists crashed through the fence on his front lawn in the past 16 years, Sawransky said.
The sidewalks will make it much safer for neighborhood children to get around, Sawransky said.
“It’s way overdue,” Sawransky said. “You see children let off by the (school) bus. Instead of having a sidewalk to walk on, they’re walking in the middle of grass. It’s very dangerous. They’re riding their bikes on the grass. There’s no place for them to go safely. This will really help that.”
Construction on the makeover of the St. Lucie West Boulevard interchange on I-95 is to start in the fall of 2021 and take two years to complete, state records show.
The $17.8 million project includes the construction of a new bridge over I-95, additional through and turn lanes and new on and off ramps, state records show.
FDOT anticipates holding a public information meeting about the project in August.
Port St. Lucie also plans to spend $10 million widening California Boulevard to four lanes and another $2 million improving the north-south thoroughfare’s intersection with St. Lucie West Boulevard.
Construction is expected to start by July 2026 and be completed by end of 2028, Stockton said. The extra lane will dramatically increase the traffic flow. “When we finish up with California it’s going to be like day and night,” Stockton said.
The city may consider widening St. Lucie West Boulevard to six lanes if the east-west thoroughfare remains congested after all the projects are completed, said Mayor Greg Oravec.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Oravec said. “The upside is capacity. The downside is it changes the driving experience. It feels less like a community and more like a highway.”
