Longboat Key Village repaving set to begin mid-June

Village residents can expect a smoother ride in some areas by the end of June. 

Starting on June 10, the town will begin a repaving project for areas of the Village. The project is contracted through Gator Grading and Paving and is expected to take about a week, weather permitting. 

The total project cost is about $246,000, which comes from the town budget. Mopps said the town has been incrementally improving the condition of roads through the repaving and resurfacing program. 

This project in the Village addresses some critical areas that need to be resurfaced, but will not repave the entire Village. 

“That way, we can buy some time before we move onto road elevation projects,” Assistant Director of Public Works Charlie Mopps said.

The town is in the process of securing grants for various resilience projects related to flooding in the Village, Buttonwood and Sleepy Lagoon. 

Across all three project areas, the flooding resiliency projects include changes in road elevation and additional drainage structures. 

For the Village, that means changes in water flow directions that would require redesign of almost the entire stormwater management system, according to Mopps. That is why the town isn’t repaving the entirety of the Village before undertaking a project like that. 

Design and permitting for the first phase of the Village portion is estimated to cost around $800,000, with construction around $2 million. 

For the Buttonwood portion of the flooding projects, design and construction should come in around $3.8 million. About $2.8 million will be covered by federal funding, but the remainder will require grants. 

Before the Village and Buttonwood projects, though, is Sleepy Lagoon, the first phase of which is focused on Norton Street. About $2 million will be needed for construction, which is slated to begin around March 31, 2025. 

For all three projects, the town is working on grants including some through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. According to Mopps, the town has continued dialogue with FEMA throughout the grant process, which is a good sign. 

Future projects 

Mopps said that the Florida Department of Transportation also did some repaving on Gulf of Mexico Drive as a part of the latest pedestrian crossing project. 

The town is also working with the FDOT to bid out the Country Club Shores Turn Lane project, which will also include some resurfacing. 

The difference between repaving and resurfacing is that repaving removes the old asphalt and replaces it with new asphalt, whereas resurfacing adds a new layer of asphalt over the existing roadway. 

Down the road, the FDOT is also planning on resurfacing the entirety of GMD. These projects will be split up by county and are included in the FDOT’s latest five-year work plan. 

Manatee County’s resurfacing is scheduled for 2026 and will cost about $3.7 million. Sarasota County will follow in 2027 with an estimated cost of $8.8 million.