The portion of the Federal Highway construction project between Camino Real and Southeast Fifth Street/Mizner Boulevard will remove one travel lane in each direction, create buffered bike lanes, and widen the sidewalks. Rendering provided and Staff Photo/The Coastal Star
By Steve Plunkett
Expect driving downtown on Federal Highway in Boca Raton to be more challenging through fall of next year.
Work has begun on what the state calls a “lane repurposing and resurfacing project” on 1.3 miles of the highway from Camino Real to Northeast Eighth Street/Mizner Boulevard.
The first step was closing the inside lanes of both northbound and southbound Federal between Southeast Eighth Street and Southeast Fifth Street on Aug. 24 and continuing through Sept. 11.
The $6.3 million project consists of milling and resurfacing the highway and repurposing the roadway from Camino Real to Southeast Mizner Boulevard/Southeast Fifth Street by eliminating the 11-foot outside lanes and narrowing the median to provide 5-foot separated bike lanes and 11-foot-wide sidewalks. That stretch currently has 6-foot-wide sidewalks and 4-foot-wide, unbuffered bike lanes. Bicyclists will be separated from motorists by 2 feet of raised concrete and 2 feet of sod; there will be 4 feet of sod between the bicyclists and the sidewalks.
The project also will narrow the median from Southeast Mizner Boulevard/Southeast Fifth Street to Northeast Mizner/Northeast Eighth Street to provide 5-foot separated bike lanes; add a new signalized mid-block crosswalk with increased lighting south of Plaza Real, and upgrade pedestrian push buttons and signal heads at signalized intersections throughout the project corridor.
Existing traffic signals with mast arms at the intersection of Federal Highway and Camino Real will be replaced; a second left-turn lane at the intersection of northbound Federal and Camino Real will be added to improve intersection operations and capacity; curb ramps and pedestrian detectors will be modified to meet ADA criteria; and signing and pavement markings will be replaced and upgraded to improve visibility and accessibility.
As usual, work will be done in phases to reduce the impacts of construction on the community, temporary lane closures will be done mostly during non-peak hours, and access to residences and businesses — along with pedestrian traffic — will be maintained during construction, the Florida Department of Transportation said.
Construction is scheduled to continue through autumn 2027.
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