NORTH PORT, Fla. — City of North Port staff and engineers are holding an open house session on Saturday about the upcoming construction project to widen parts of Price Boulevard.
The road will be expanding to five lanes between Sumter and Toledo Blade boulevards. The construction will impact several homeowners including giving up parts of their driveway in hopes of less traffic.
"Trying to back out is impossible. We try to back into the driveway that way we can just pull out into the road," North Port resident Jeff Dollins said.
"Sometimes when I want to get out, it's so difficult because some people, they don't want to stop," another resident Charmaine Drummond-Anderson added.
The neighbors who live between Sumter and Toledo Blade boulevards said getting in and out of their driveways is a tough task because of the traffic congestion.
"The traffic is horrible on this road right now and school is not even in, but when schools are in the mornings with the school buses it's just impossible," Dollins said.
"Even my mom doesn't come over here. My mom said she doesn't like to come over here because traffic is so bad and sometimes it takes a while for her to get out," Drummond-Anderson said.
The neighbors are hoping that the widening of the road from two lanes to four travel lanes and a center turn lane would bring about significant change to the situation.
The new road would also include a ten-foot wide sidewalk on each side for pedestrians and cyclists making the area more walkable and safer for pedestrians than it is now.
Along with impacts to mailbox access, many property owners will lose parts of their driveway and front yard to the new road.
"I'm going to lose about two panels of my driveway. It's going to be quite a bit that they're taking but my biggest concern is I don't want them to raise the elevation up because we're pretty high. When Hurricane Ian came through we got absolutely no flooding in here," Dollins explained.
The plan to widen Price Boulevard was already in place and about to kick off before Hurricane Ian struck with heavy damage and caused some delays.
Now that plans for construction are getting underway, the open house session is an opportunity for homeowners and residents of North Port to get answers to their questions and have their concerns addressed.
Staff would be providing assistance and more information including helping with temporary construction easements which residences and property owners along the construction path are required to sign.
"That will allow us to make the improvements to the right of way to their property and make sure that their driveway aligns with the new road, so it's really important that they get those signed. We still have a few dozen that haven't signed their easements yet," Jason Bartolone, the North Port communication manager, said.
City officials are reminding drivers and neighbors to pack plenty of patience over the next two years of the construction phase and to pay close attention to any road signs and signals that are redirecting traffic flow or detours to help ease congestion.
"This is the price of growth that comes with our city and we're trying to do our best to accommodate that growth and improve the situation, so we know we're going to have a great new roadway at the end of this project," Bartolone added.
As for many of the neighbors, they are willing to make the sacrifice and have no choice but to bear the inconveniences the road construction would bring to their doorstep if it would mean a better quality of life in their neighborhood and an improved commuting experience for residents.
"Whether I am OK or not OK, what am I going to do about it? What all I can say is that it is going to be inconvenient but it is for the better," Drummond-Anderson added.
The open house will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, inside the George Mullen Activity Center located at 1602 Kramer Way.
The city's commissioner will consider the contract for the construction of the road around September or October. The plan is to complete the $80,000,000 project by the fall of 2026.