DeSantis Celebrates Completion of $61 Million River Road Widening in Sarasota County

Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday, Oct. 2, marked the completion of the $61 million widening of River Road in Sarasota County, a five-mile stretch of State Road 777 between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75 that has been expanded from two lanes to six, tripling the road's capacity through one of Southwest Florida's fastest-growing corridors.

The project, jointly funded by the state and Sarasota County, runs through North Port and the Wellen Park master-planned community and serves as a key link between the Tamiami Trail, the interstate and the coastal communities to the south. River Road has long been described by county officials as one of Sarasota County's main thoroughfares and a vital hurricane evacuation route.

What was built

According to the governor's office, the Florida Department of Transportation project widened River Road to six lanes for its full length between U.S. 41 and I-75. Beyond the added lanes, the work included:

• Two 10-foot-wide shared-use paths for pedestrians and bicyclists, one on each side of the road
• Upgraded lighting and traffic signals
• Pedestrian refuge islands and ADA-accessible curb ramps
• Two wildlife underpasses to give native animals a safer way across and reduce collisions with motorists

The governor's office said the project was finished ahead of schedule through coordination among FDOT, Sarasota County, the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization and regional partners.

What officials said

DeSantis said it was "great to be in Sarasota County" to celebrate the completion of the SR 777 widening ahead of schedule and said the improvements will relieve congestion in the county.

FDOT Secretary Jared W. Perdue said the project reflects the department's commitment to delivering transportation improvements that make a meaningful difference for the people and communities it serves.

The road and its route

State Road 777 is a roughly 5.8-mile state highway that runs north from U.S. 41 to I-75 at Exit 191, according to state highway records summarized by Wikipedia. Along the way it passes West Villages Parkway, Center Road and Venice Avenue, and runs near Blue Heron Park and the Jelks Preserve along the Myakka River. South of U.S. 41, River Road continues as a county road toward Englewood and the Gulf coast.

The road dates back more than a century. It appeared on state maps as early as 1917 as a route between Englewood and what is now North Port and before a 1945 statewide renumbering was designated State Road 311, a loop off U.S. 41 between Venice and Englewood. Control of the road shifted to Sarasota County in the decades that followed, before the state took over the stretch between U.S. 41 and I-75 again under the recent improvement deal.

A road swap that led to the widening

The widening grew out of a 2018 agreement in which Sarasota County accepted a state offer worth about $40 million to swap responsibility for several roads, with the state agreeing to improve River Road, according to the Wikipedia account of the road's history. The transfer of River Road to the state was completed in September 2020.

FDOT awarded the contract to widen River Road from U.S. 41 to I-75 in August 2021, and construction began in February 2022. The project was initially expected to wrap up in mid-2025. In 2024, plans were revised to carry six lanes along the entire corridor instead of a mix of four and six lanes, and the completion target moved to 2027. Finishing in the fall of 2026 puts the road open well ahead of that revised date.

Growth around Wellen Park and North Port

The corridor has been reshaped by development over the past decade. Wellen Park, a master-planned community of about 9,600 acres that sits largely within North Port's city limits along U.S. 41 and River Road, was formerly ranch land known as Taylor Ranch. A partnership including Mattamy Homes and Vanguard Land bought the property for about $100 million in 2014 and marketed it as West Villages before renaming it Wellen Park in 2020.

The area is also home to CoolToday Park, the spring training home of the Atlanta Braves, which the team chose in 2017 with funding that included about $22 million from Sarasota County, $4.7 million from North Port and $20 million from the state. The ballpark and new neighborhoods have brought steady growth in traffic on what was, until recently, a two-lane country road in much of its length.

An evacuation route for the coast

River Road's importance goes beyond daily commutes. For residents of Englewood, Venice and North Port, it is a primary route from the coast to I-75, the main path inland during a hurricane evacuation. Hurricane Ian in 2022 caused severe flooding in North Port, and Hurricane Milton made landfall at Siesta Key in Sarasota County in 2024, underscoring the need for reliable routes out of the region when storms approach.

Tripling the number of lanes gives emergency managers more capacity to move traffic away from the coast and gives first responders and utility crews a wider road to reach coastal communities after a storm passes.

What's next

With the widening finished, drivers on River Road between U.S. 41 and I-75 now have three lanes in each direction along with the new shared-use paths. The new wildlife underpasses are intended to reduce collisions with animals crossing between the preserve lands along the Myakka River.

Traffic on the corridor is expected to keep climbing. As of 2020, more than 7,000 acres of the Wellen Park property remained undeveloped, and the West Villages Improvement District that serves the community oversees about 11,000 acres. As those neighborhoods fill in, the six-lane River Road will carry a growing share of daily commuters, ballpark visitors and, when storms threaten, evacuating residents from the Gulf coast.