River Road is now six lanes from U.S. 41 to I-75 — months ahead of schedule

Editorial graphic by Venice Community Website. Illustrative blurred community background: Wesley Chapel, Florida (August 2024), LittleT889 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Photo source · License

River Road is now six lanes for its full five miles between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. State and Sarasota County officials marked completion of the $61 million widening of State Road 777 on Oct. 2, with Gov. Ron DeSantis cutting the ribbon alongside FDOT Secretary Jared Perdue and Sarasota County Sheriff Kurt Hoffman. FDOT says the new configuration triples the corridor's capacity.

The finish comes earlier than FDOT's own posted timeline: the department's project page lists the construction phase as starting in early 2022 with estimated completion in early 2027. The governor's office described the project as done ahead of schedule.

What drivers, walkers and cyclists get

Beyond the added lanes, the project built two 10-foot-wide shared-use paths, one on each side of the road, intended to connect neighborhoods and destinations along the corridor. Crews also installed upgraded lighting and signals, pedestrian refuge islands and ADA-accessible ramps, plus drainage work, raised medians and intelligent transportation system equipment.

Two wildlife underpasses now run beneath the roadway, which FDOT says should reduce collisions between motorists and animals.

Hoffman cautioned that the wider road is not a speedway and said deputies will enforce traffic laws along the corridor, pointing to the new turn lanes, posted speed limits, pavement markings and flashing signs.

Why it grew from four lanes to six

The extra capacity on the northern end was a mid-project decision. The 2022 design would have left the stretch from I-75 to Center Road at four lanes, with six lanes only from Center Road south to U.S. 41. FDOT presented its plan to add a lane in each direction between Center Road and I-75 at a public meeting in November 2024, after the design-build work was already underway.

Perdue said the corridor had been a regional priority for more than 20 years but went unfunded while it was a county road. Under a 2020 agreement, Sarasota County transferred River Road to the state, which allowed FDOT to put money behind it. The project was backed by FDOT, the county and the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization.

The hurricane angle

Hoffman tied the work to Hurricane Ian, when the Myakka River flooded: River Road, he said, is the last exit before that bridge and could have served as a detour. He said the completed project makes the road usable for evacuations and detours, and that it matters for residents farther south in Rotonda, Englewood, Port Charlotte, Grove City, Placida and Boca Grande who could head north on it.