First segment of expanded Legacy Trail to open in July

County leaders will officially open the first segment of the northern extension to the Legacy Trail on July 6.

When completed, the entire extension will connect the trail from the current northern terminus at Culverhouse Nature Park to Payne Park in downtown Sarasota. 

Asphalt has been laid on segment one, which runs from Proctor Road to Bahia Vista Street. Crews are finishing final touches including landscaping and cleanup. 

A ribbon cutting to open that segment will be held July 6.  and a groundbreaking for the North Port connector will be held June 14. Segments 2 and 3, which will link the Proctor-Bahia Vista segment to downtown and Culverhouse Nature Park, are scheduled for completion in early 2022. 

The entire project is about two years ahead of schedule. It originally wasn’t going to open until 2024. 

Florida Department of Transportation will construct overpasses at Bee Ridge Road and Clark Road, similar to the Legacy Trail's overpasses near Venice are on track for completion in 2024. 

The original portion of Legacy Trail opened in 2008 along a former railway corridor. In 2018, Sarasota County voters approved a $65 million referendum to add the extension, which will add another 8 miles of contiguous paved trail.