Construction underway to add turn lanes at Hammock Dunes Parkway intersection

A 2018 traffic study found that the four-way stop at the intersection of Hammock Dunes Parkway and Camino Del Mar at the foot of Hammock Dunes Bridge would fail in 2031.


Intersection with four-way stop sign at Hammock Dunes Parkway and Camino Del Mar. Courtesy photo from Dunes Community Development District
Intersection with four-way stop sign at Hammock Dunes Parkway and Camino Del Mar. Courtesy photo from Dunes Community Development District
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Construction began on April 7 to create three new turn lanes at the often traffic heavy intersection of Hammock Dunes Parkway and Camino Del Mar, at the foot of the Hammock Dunes Bridge.

The Dunes Community Development District Board of Supervisors authorized a traffic study of the intersection in 2018. The intersection has a four-way stop sign that the study revealed would fail in 2031. A bike path between the bridge and southbound Hammock Dunes Parkway will also be added.

So far, crews have been clearing and grubbing — removing vegetation and debris and leveling the ground — DCDD District Manager Greg Peugh said. The turn lanes will be added along both legs of Hammock Dunes Parkway and along the eastbound leg of Camino Del Mar. 

The contract calls for the project to be completed in 120 days but possible weather delays could extend construction, Peugh said. The project will cost over $2 million, according to the DCDD’s project overview.

Lane closures due to construction are expected to take place mostly at night. Traffic at the intersection is heaviest in the spring, especially during special events — Race Week, Bike Week and spring break — Peugh said. This year, traffic has been worse than in the past, and the district board hired off-duty Sheriff deputies for two weeks to direct traffic to improve the flow. Traffic has improved since then, Peugh said.

“I’m not seeing the delays I’ve seen earlier in the spring,” Peugh said.

The four-way stop typically backs up between noon and 4 p.m. and not during morning and evening work and school drive time, he said.

“The traffic engineers that we consult with do not have a good reason for this phenomenon,” Peugh said.

The project is actually Phase 1 of improvements to the intersection. Phase 2, which would replace the four-way stop with a traffic signal, will only be implemented if Phase 1 doesn’t solve the traffic problem, Peugh said.

Peugh encourages drivers to use their traffic signals when turning at the intersection because the four-way stop already slows people down more than a regular stop sign does, he said.

 

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