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UPDATE OF FDOT PAVING PROJECT FROM: SR A1A FROM NE SHORE VILLAGE TER TO SR-732/JENSEN BEACH CAUSEWAY
BASED ON FEEDBACK RECEIVED AT THE OCT. 19 PUBLIC MEETING, FDOT HAS REMOVED THE ADDITIONAL ROUNDABOUT AT HUTCHINSON SHORES & GREEN TURTLE COVE FROM THE RESURFACING PLANS.NEXT PUBLIC MEETING PLANNED FOR SUMMER 2023.
Together, we can make a difference!
FDOT To Host Public Meeting
October 19 at 6:00 at BOCC Chambers
to Discuss Planned Paving and Construction Projects on A1A
on Hutchinson Island
Plans include the addition of a new roundabout at Hutchinson Shores and Rigels Cove Way and new streetlights between the current and new roundabout
Members of the HIPI Board of Directors met with representatives of FDOT on October 6 and received the following information
Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) plans to repave A1A on Hutchinson Island in Martin County from NE Shore Village Terrace to the roundabout at Jensen Beach Causeway.
Additionally, the current plan calls for the ADDITION OF A NEW ROUNDABOUT AND CROSSWALKS AT HUTCHINSON SHORES & RIGELS COVE WAY. The plan also calls for the INSTALLATION OF NEW STREET LIGHTS FROM THE EXISTING ROUNDABOUT TO THE NEW ONE.
Construction is estimated to begin Spring 2025 and be completed Summer 2026.
Be informed and make your opinion known: FDOT will hold a public meeting on October 19 at 6:00 pm at the Martin County Commission Chambers, 2401 SE Monterey Rd.
Everyone owning property within 500 feet of the project should get a flyer about the meeting. That would exclude anyone owning property 500 feet or more south of NE Shore Village Drive, including everyone owning property along or near MacArthur Blvd. Please help us share the meeting information with all Hutchinson Island property owners.
The flyer and meeting information also is posted at this site: Project information is posted here:
https://www.d4fdot.com/tcfdot/sr_a1a_from_ne_shore_village_ter_to_sr-732_jensen_beach_causeway.asp.
This public meeting will be offered in two different formats: virtual and in-person. The public meeting will have FDOT representatives available to answer questions. Project information also will be available for public viewing. Questions and comments may be submitted prior to the meeting by emailing the Project Manager, Kris McKirdy at kris.mckirdy@dot.state.fl.us.
The presentation will start at 6:00 p.m. followed by a question-and-answer session.
To participate in the virtual public meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone please register using the following link https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8918565847183961355. Participants can also dial in using their phone: +1 (213) 929-4221
The FDOT presentation to HIPI on October 6 is below. We also have requested a copy of the Traffic Safety Study that prompted these proposed changes. That study also will be on our website as soon as FDOT shares it with HIPI.
Information from the HIPI meeting with FDOT in February 2021 about the findings of this Traffic Safety Study follows this article below.. Please note that when HIPI met with FDOT in 2021, the need for a new roundabout was never mentioned.
Click the image below to view all slides.
Click the image below to read the 2021 Safety Study
FDOT Safety Study of A1A on Hutchinson Island
This information was posted in February 2021 after HIPI met with FDOT.This information came directly from the presentation and PowerPoint slides FDOT shared with HIPI at that time.
In 2021 FDOT did not mention the addition of a new roundabout.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Commision also disapproved of the project becuase the planned lighting was
in violation of lighting requirements in sea turtle nesting areas. From this grassroots effort to defeat the
planned lighting project, HIPI was born.
HIPI found the request for this safety study on the Martin County website’s public email page and contacted
Commissioner Smith and FDOT for additional information. Additionally, HIPI has notified FDOT of our concerns about the need for any additional lighting on the island.
The results of this study will be presented to the MPO on Monday, February 21 at 9:00 in the county commission chambers, 2401 SE Monterey Rd.
Due to HIPI’s consistent presence at county commission meetings, FDOT officials met with HIPI on November 18 to outline their preliminary findings. Recommendations are likely to include:
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increased and improved signage
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removal of trees in the median near the crosswalk
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installation of pavement warning graphics
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feedback signs with a reduction of speed to 25 mph as approaching the roundabout
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installation of pavement and/or median reflectors
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additional lighting on A1A from Hutchinson Shores Resort, north to the roundabout
Because of our unique, natural island environment and concern for the effects of additional lighting on our native wildlife and nesting sea turtles, the addition of lighting is HIPI’s primary concern. FDOT stated the type and intensity of lighting will be determined by a photometric study to be performed during the constructability phase of the project, planned for February 2023. The FDOT design team said the ultimate lighting design will be coordinated with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Committee (FWC).
FDOT agreed to brief HIPI on the planned lighting schematic before it is presented to the MPO. Please monitor our website and social media for updates.
In May 2021, District 1 Martin County Commissioner Doug Smith contacted the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to request a safety study of State Road A1A on Hutchinson Island from theJensen Beach North Roundabout to the
Hutchinson Shores Resort and Spa to determine if lighting is justified in that area.
A similar safety study was completed in 2017 by FDOT for the entire stretch of A1A on Hutchinson Island in Martin County. That study, which can be viewed HERE, found that road lighting was not justified. A small group of island residents, however, convinced FDOT that all residents wanted the lighting, and FDOT notified residents in the spring of 2018 that 472 seventeen foot light poles were to be installed every 50 feet along A1A. That attempt to light up A1A was defeated when the Martin MPO was overwhelmed by residents who complained they not only opposed the project, but knew nothing about it until notified by FDOT.