In early 2023, the Florida Department of Transportation started the Lem Turner Road project. This was intended to be just a milling and resurfacing project that would wrap up in the Summer of 2024.
However, unforeseen challenges have delayed the completion of the project. On the surface, this may not seem ideal, but in the long run, this could be a good thing for taxpayers.
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“Along the way, as they’ve been repaving the roads,” Brie Isom, a Public Information Specialist with FDOT, started, “the drainage on Lem Turner has also presented some challenges.”
Lem Turner Road, or State Road 115, has been seeing continuous work from Soutel Road to Thomas Creek. Isom said that during the project, the team realized that the drainage system on Lem Turner Road needed to be repaired. This added time to the project, extending the completion date by one year. However, Isom said this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
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“We are doing some work underground, fixing all that drainage to make sure that when it floods or rains a lot in the area, all that water is draining properly,” Isom said.
Isom also claims this will save taxpayers a headache.
“This actually saves taxpayers money because they don’t have to create another contract, putting taxpayer dollars into that contract,” Isom said.
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The Lem Turner Road project was initially going to cost $16.4 million. That price, adding the drainage improvements, now jumps to $19 million.
Isom said that FDOT is getting a lot of calls asking why they aren’t actively working on the project. She said crews are working; you just may not always be able to see them as they work underground. After the drainage work is done, the Lem Turner Project is nearly complete.
“They do have to place that final layer of asphalt still down and replace some of the traffic signals,” Isom said.
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FDOT said at the end of the day, they are just working to make sure residents have an easier time on Lem Turner Road in the long run.
“This is going to be for the good. The roads are going to be better,” Isom said.
The completion date for this project is Summer of 2025.
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