Manatee County 44th Avenue East construction ahead of schedule despite eagle nest work around
Road extension project goes on despite eagle nest
FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon shares the challenges being brought to the 44th Ave. E extension project in Manatee County as a pair of neighboring eagles are nesting.
BRADENTON, Fla. - Construction continues in Manatee County on the 44th Avenue East extension, which is expected to help relieve some of the congestion on I-75 as well as State Road 64 and 70.
Along the path for the future roadway sat an eagle’s nest that needed a work around. Monitoring had to be done and adjustments had to be made.
Dig deeper:
It’s a new connector bringing 44th Avenue East across I-75 and into Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County.
"This should be almost as exciting as when we originally opened the Ft. Hamer Bridge in 2017," said Chad Butzow, the public works director for Manatee County.
Butzow said construction is nearing the finish line.
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"This will be an entirely new corridor where, during evening and morning rush hours, if you were frustrated on the volume of 64 and 70, it will give you a totally new option," he said.
As construction on the 44th Avenue East extension expanded, the road’s final stretch had to take into consideration a pair of eagles nesting in the trees.
"In one way, on the first day you go darn, but then it was part of the job. Because you always had the permit, you knew you’d have to do it, but when they do show up, and they’re on the nest, you have to respect the system we have and encourage the success of the eagles as they’re trying to procreate," said Butzow.
Manatee County Natural Resource monitored the nest, and there were a few workarounds that had to be considered.
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"For a couple of weeks, because of implementing the extra procedures of trying to be quieter, less vibration and do things that you could only not do in that medium territory, is what we had to make adjustments," said Butzow.
As work with SEMA Construction continued on, the Eagles did flourish.
"First year we were here, the eagles successfully hatched two eaglets and they fledged. Big success story," said Mike Hill, the senior project manger with SEMA construction.
Why you should care:
The next time the eagles come back to the nest, the construction here will be finished, about four months ahead of time and anticipated to open in August.
"We are finally at that point where it’s a matter of days, if you will. Two more months, and we will be able to have that generational change in Manatee County where there is now another option to go east and west other than State Roads 64 and 70," said Butzow.
The new road will make room for around 36,000 more vehicles per day. Manatee County said it will also reduce traffic through State Road 64 and State Road 70 by 21,000 vehicles a day.
The Source: This information was gathered by Fox 13’s Kimberly Kuizon through Manatee County.
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