FDOT and consultants show Willoughby Boulevard PD&E results; corridor one offers greatest congestion relief in model

FDOT project manager Vinita Sany and consultant AECOM presented an update April 20 on the Willoughby Boulevard PD&E study, which evaluates two corridor alternatives plus a no‑build scenario for a new or reconstructed north‑south link between SR 714/Monterey Road and US‑1 in Stuart and Martin County.

Chris Rizzolo of AECOM summarized objectives: “The PD&E study objectives are to accommodate the projected increases in growth and travel demand in the area, improve network connectivity by introducing another north‑south corridor in the area, enhance mobility by providing those alternate routes, not just for motor vehicles, but also bicyclists and pedestrians,” and to improve safety and emergency response routing. The consultants presented crash‑history analysis for 2019–2023 showing clusters of crashes and four fatalities in the study area; bike and pedestrian collisions show a high injury rate.

AECOM used microsimulation (VISSIM) to compare build/no‑build conditions for the 2045 design year and reported that corridor one performs better than corridor two in reducing vehicle stacking and delays at three key intersections (Canner & Monterey, Canner & US‑1, and Monterey & US‑1). The model results cited up to a 36% travel‑time reduction for some trips using corridor one versus the no‑build condition and predicted fewer crashes at the three studied intersections under the build scenario.

FDOT and the consultant described environmental and permitting work, including wetland and benthic surveys (one remnant wetland within the right‑of‑way was noted and is dominated by invasive species), gopher‑tortoise surveys and Florida bonneted bat monitoring, noise and archaeological studies, and a contamination screening. The team said no residential relocations are anticipated for either corridor; limited corner‑clip right‑of‑way acquisitions and possible business impacts near US‑1 are being evaluated.

Next steps: the alternatives public workshop is scheduled for July; the project team will publish the project traffic analysis report documenting both the traditional analysis and model results prior to that meeting.