Planning for Future Growth

03/07/2005

Manatee County, Florida, is one of the fastest growing counties in the country. Anticipating this growth to continue, the County is planning for future transportation needs and has contracted with TBE to perform feasibility studies on various roadway corridor improvement options. These feasibility studies include selecting evaluation criteria that influence roadway alignments, evaluating competing roadway corridor alternatives, making reasonable projections for probable project costs, and comparing other evaluation factors, such as wetland and flood plain impacts. TBE recently completed a draft feasibility study for 60th Avenue East, a future four-lane divided urban roadway that will run parallel to the east side of I-75, from Mendoza Road to Moccasin Wallow Road. The feasibility study included a corridor study to evaluate possible horizontal alignment alternatives. Evaluation criteria included the impact of the proposed roadway on existing residential and commercial properties, wetlands, threatened and endangered species, and floodplain, as well as projected design, construction and right-of-way acquisition costs.

TBE evaluated five alternative alignments for 60th Avenue East and selected two for submission to the Manatee County Board of Commissioners for review.