Alachua County Accelerates NW 83rd Street Renovation Near Santa Fe College

Alachua County Accelerates NW 83rd Street Renovation Near Santa Fe College

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Alachua County is moving up a major road renovation on Northwest 83rd Street, bringing the project forward by two years to begin this November, county officials said. The $4 million project will add sidewalks and pedestrian safety features near Santa Fe College, with construction timed around the college’s winter break to minimize disruption.

The renovation was originally scheduled for 2028 but is now set to begin Nov. 9, county road workers confirmed. The improvements include upgrades to existing walking paths, traffic signals, raised crosswalks, and additional turning lanes. The county reports about 13,000 vehicles use the road daily, and the asphalt is approximately 30 years old.

Project Details and Construction Timeline

The renovation will include roadway rehabilitation, pedestrian improvements, and traffic signal upgrades. Concrete work is expected to begin the week of Nov. 9 and take about one month. Asphalt work, including the construction of a raised crosswalk, is slated to start the week of Dec. 14 and take approximately three weeks.

Officials Praise Project for Safer Travel

Alachua County officials highlighted the project’s importance for safer travel and better connectivity, emphasizing their partnership with Santa Fe College. County Manager Michele Lieberman called the project a demonstration of the county’s understanding of the college’s foundational importance. Santa Fe College President Paul Broadie II noted the college has 70,000 visitors annually and praised the improvements as transformational for everyone traveling to the campus. He called the improvements transformational. These improvements will make a better experience for every single person who travels to Santa Fe College and we thank you for that and we thank you for your very strong partnership day in a day out. It tells us that our community cares about Santa Fe College and cares about the students. County Commissioner Anna Prizzia also spoke about the project. The exciting part, in addition to the surface work, is that we are going to be adding sidewalks, making improvements to the shared use path and also creating better pedestrian crosswalks so that this road becomes not only better to drive but safer for everyone in all modes of transport. She also noted that the project goes beyond paving.

Santa fe college
Photo: sfcollege.edu

Reasons for Acceleration

County officials moved the project up to take advantage of Santa Fe College’s winter break, when fewer students are on campus. Public Works Director Ramon Gavarette explained the timing is critical: You don’t want to do the project like this when college is in. So the window is when the college is not in session.

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