TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: Discussion and Possible Direction Regarding Next Steps for Florida Department of Transportation Related to the Yorkshire / Raintree Interchange
Recommended Action
Discussion and possible direction.
Background Information
Since 2018, the Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization (SMMPO) and the Charlotte County Punta Gorda Metropolitan Planning Organization (CCPGMPO) have been working with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) regarding a new interchange to aide evacuation and relieve congestion from the King's Highway interchange.
* In October 2020, both MPOs adopted their 2045 Long Range Transportation Plans with the Yorkshire Rd./Raintree Blvd. interchange.
* In April 2022, FDOT completed a feasibility study for the interchange, laying out some following steps required to progress the project. The first step is to complete an Interchange Justification Report (IJR) to obtain approval from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) who oversees new interchange requests. The next step would be a Project Development and Environment Study to evaluation environmental impact mitigation and develop a preferred alternative for the interchange's design.
* In November 2023, the City of North Port and Charlotte County passed and adopted a joint resolution (City Resolution No. 2022-R-69) to support the interchange and request FDOT to advance the concept, funding, and construction.
* In April 2024, FDOT hired a consultant, Stantec, to put together a memo laying out the next steps of the project. The memo highlighted several local road improvements that must be in place to support this interchange.
The City has submitted the Yorkshire-Raintree Interchange as a project priority through the MPO's call for projects, which allocates state funds to the highest-ranking projects, every year since 2020.
The next major milest...
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