Gainesville Completes SW 62nd Blvd Connector Project Ahead of Schedule
The City of Gainesville, Florida has completed the SW 62nd Boulevard Connector project one month ahead of schedule.
The $18.8 million connector is designed as a multimodal artery, featuring wider (11-foot) travel lanes, 10-foot shoulders with seven-foot buffered bicycle lanes on each side and a 10-foot multiuse path. It also includes the first simple span bridge constructed by the City of Gainesville, with a 330-foot segment crossing Hogtown Creek.
“A well-connected road network is crucial,” said Gainesville Mayor Harvey Ward. “These changes improve safety and make it easier for neighbors to choose alternative modes of transportation. They help disperse traffic and reduce delay and congestion. In the end, they make our community more comfortable, more convenient and a safer place to live.”
According to Gainesville, In using a “Complete Streets” model, the connector aligns with the Vision Zero Policy adopted by the Gainesville City Commission in 2018 to improve traffic safety. This approach to planning, designing, building, operating and maintaining streets enables safe access for all people who need to use them, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities.
Long recognized as a necessary solution to ease traffic congestion, the direct route between SW 43rd Street/Clark Butler Boulevard and the southern end of SW 52nd Street improves flow on SW 34th Street, SW 20th Avenue, Newberry Road and Archer Road. It also has potential to increase highway efficiency and reduce accident rates on I-75 by giving drivers an alternate path across southwest Gainesville.