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March 2, 2020                                                                                                           Lisa M. Barnott, (941) 757-1542

Lisa.barnott@lakewoodranch.com

LAKEWOOD RANCH BOULEVARD EXTENSION NOW OPEN

Business leaders and various government officials gathered March 2 to commemorate the completion of the Lakewood Ranch Boulevard extension south to Fruitville Road.

The completion of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard will facilitate travel from Fruitville Road in Sarasota County, to U.S. 301, north of the Manatee River, via the Fort Hamer Bridge, in Manatee County. The road will improve the transportation network for people in both counties, alleviating congestion on I-75. This is the second north-south road that the Lakewood Ranch Stewardship District has built; the Lorraine Road extension, between University Parkway and Fruitville Road, was finished in 2017.

“The Lakewood Ranch Boulevard and Lorraine Road projects are of regional significance in that they provide increased mobility not for just Lakewood Ranch residents but everyone in Manatee and Sarasota counties,” said Rex Jensen, president and CEO of Schroeder-Manatee Ranch, Inc. “They are a continuation of our established standards of planning and infrastructure quality.”

Both the Lorraine Road and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard extensions connect Manatee and Sarasota counties, and run along Lakewood Ranch Waterside, The Ranch’s first development in Sarasota County, with more than 5,100 homes planned at completion. Waterside Place, the lakefront town center that will be home to stylish shops, acclaimed restaurants, and more, is under construction and expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The road project was a collaboration between Schroeder-Manatee Ranch (the developer of Lakewood Ranch) and Sarasota County; Schroeder-Manatee Ranch has a history, since its inception, of planning and implementing infrastructure ahead of development.

“The opening of this section of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard completes this much needed north-south thoroughfare connecting Manatee and Sarasota counties, providing a parallel reliever road to I- 75,” said Betsy Benac, chairwoman of the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners. “It has taken determination, grit and cooperation to get it done – thanks to SMR for being a great leader in this public private partnership!”

The road was built by Woodruff and Sons, in about a year and a half, at the cost of approximately $16 million. Construction of the 1.711 miles of four-lane roadway took 14,676 tons of asphalt, 4,400 linear feet of guardrails, 9,979 square yards of concrete for the sidewalk, and 34,918 linear feet of curb. The extension features two roundabouts and 82 streetlights.

“I am incredibly excited about this event,” said Mike Moran, chairman of the Sarasota County Board of County Commissioners. “Traffic is a quality of life issue for our community and a top priority. It is a huge day for Sarasota County residents.”

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Lakewood Ranch is the 33,000+-acre award-winning master-planned community in Sarasota and Manatee counties on the West Coast of Florida. Just minutes from the Gulf Coast beaches and cultural assets in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch is already home to more than 41,000 residents and features A-rated schools, a hospital, the Sarasota Polo Club, the 75-acre Premier Sports Campus, its own Main Street with theaters, shopping and dining, and more than four million square feet of commercial property. For more information visit www.lakewoodranch.com.