Sarasota deputies urge caution amid road construction on Clark Road

Traffic barrels are everywhere along Clark Road in Sarasota County, closing lanes and shifting traffic patterns. But deputies say drivers aren't taking the hint. The project is designed to make the roads safer. But as FOX 13's Kimberly Cuisin reports, deputies say the extra caution needs to start now to keep construction crews and drivers safe. Here on Clark Road, crews are first working on underground infrastructure. Soon they'll be removing medians and installing new ones. The new medians will be designated for left turns and prevent drivers from turning left and into oncoming traffic out of side streets. The project will also add new bike lanes. The traffic barrels have been in place for weeks, but Sarasota County deputies say they're already seeing dangerous behavior from drivers cutting through barrels, not letting others merge, and coming too close to construction workers. Deputies are out educating drivers now, warning that while the work has been slow to start, construction is about to ramp up. That's going to require everybody to be patient when they're driving out here. and to, you know, avoid, I would strongly suggest that people that don't have to be in this area or don't have to use it, if they can seek alternative routes, they're probably better off that way. But if you have to come through here, you're gonna have to be patient when you're driving. Where work is being done, the speed limit is reduced from 45 to 35 miles per hour. And if you receive a ticket, fines are doubled in the construction or work zones. These workers that are out here are in a very dangerous position working in the medians. So it's important that people avoid those areas. I mean, the more people avoid the areas, the faster they can work and get things done and stay out of their way, and that will shorten the length of time that it takes to get the project done. The work here could take upwards of a year or more, and we're told the most significant impacts to traffic with lane closures should be finished by spring of 2027. From Sarasota County, Kimberly Cuisin, Fox 13 News.