Sidewalk Renovation planned for Boca’s NE 5th Ave

The sidewalk on the west side of NE 5^th Avenue is about to get a much-needed improvement. Construction of a new six-foot sidewalk is scheduled to begin on January 4, 2021 and be completed in the fall of 2021. 

Background 

At the November 14, 2017 meeting the Boca Raton City Council approved Resolution 146-2017, which authorized the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to proceed with the design, construction and administration of the project.

On October 28, 2019 FDOT held a public information workshop at the Boca Raton Downtown Library where the details of the project were provided. The FDOT staff also took input from the residents regarding the project.

The current sidewalk is relatively narrow and is barely passable in some sections. See photo below.

Even with the current condition of the sidewalk, it is quite heavily used by pedestrians. NE 5^th Avenue is used to connect south to East Palmetto Park Road and the barrier island. Lake Wyman Park is also located on NE 5^th Avenue. People also travel north on NE 5^th Avenue to get to Federal Hwy (US 1) and the Fifth Avenue Shops.

Pedestrian traffic on NE 5^th Avenue will also increase with the completion of the enhancements to Wildflower, Silver Palm, Lake Wyman and Rutherford Parks. 

Project Details

Sidewalk improvements will span from Federal Hwy (US 1) to Boca Raton Road as depicted in the following map.

There will be occasional traffic impacts in the form of lane closures. The following near-term impacts were provided by FDOT on Friday, December 18, 2020.

• Beginning Monday, Jan. 4, the southbound lane may be closed, intermittently, 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, for construction activities such as concrete pouring for new sidewalk. During this time, a flagging operation will be used to direct traffic northbound and southbound. Sidewalks will also be closed one block at a time for concrete removal and replacement, with pedestrian access maintained at all times.
• Please note, one block of sidewalk is expected to be under construction at a time. Work is expected to begin between NE 10^th Street and NE 9^th Street, and then NE 9^th Street and NE 8^th Street, Monday through Friday, Monday, Jan. 4 through approximately Friday, Jan. 15. 
• Advanced notice: Should work be completed from NE 10^th Street to NE 8^th Street, the contractor will continue to work southbound, moving next to NE 8^th Street and NE 7^th Street, approximately Monday, Jan. 18 through Friday, Jan. 22. 

Additional details are provided by FDOT on their web site:  FDOT Palm Beach County Construction – NE 5th Avenue Sidewalk Improvements on behalf of the City of Boca Raton (d4fdot.com)

Contacts

For more detailed information on this project, you can contact Community Outreach Specialist Meredith Cruz at 561-641-6440 or mcruz@corradino.com.

To be placed on an email list for project updates you can contact Assistant Community Outreach Specialist Melissa Readling at 772-577-8803 or mreadling@CORRADINO.com.

Summary

The NE 5^th Avenue sidewalk improvement project is starting on January 4, 2021 and is estimated to complete in the Fall of 2021. Traffic impacts in the form of southbound lane closures will be occurring during the construction project. Contact information is provided for those readers interested in keeping up on the project schedule or wanting more details regarding the construction.